A Vanishing Barrier
by Kapra90
Summary: Set a couple weeks after World Beyond the Horizon, the critical line between the real world and the cartoonverse has been breached. What new threats will arise? Both humanity and cartoons alike face a rising enemy as they soon find a new reason to fight for their loved ones... as well as their existence.
1. A Painful Separation

**So ladies and gentlemen, after many months I have finally began writing a new story to add in my series. This will be like the others in that it will be a slow boil but once it does, it will certainly overflow and it will come swiftly. It will also take a much darker turn and may shock some readers. So if everyone is ready to get on this new roller coaster with even more twists and turns, then there is no turning back! Read my friends, and enjoy. :D**

* * *

"Tonight on CBS 2 news… a staggering report has shown an increase in violence around the world; people out of control from countries around the world to right here at home. Nuclear threats continue to plague the Middle East and gun violence on our own streets seems to be out of local authorities' control. Even shopping malls are dealing with brawls of out of control shoppers and we can't help but stop and ask; when will this get better? Is there anyone, anything out there that can stop the violence?"

"On NBC News today, the unimaginable has been discovered; rumors have been leaked of an alternate universe discovered by the FBI, the president is looking into the possibility of our greatest imaginations actually coming to life. More to follow."

"On day two of the investigations surrounding a supposed visitor from the world of animation, it is confirmed that our visitor is none other than the Disney villain known as Turbo from the 2012 hit film Wreck-it-Ralph… are we in danger? More to come shortly, only on ABC news."

"People, this is ridiculous! This is all some scheme to make Obama's presidency more interesting and ANYONE who believes this crap is on drugs!"

"Many public officials have come to believe that a terrorist plot to put drugs in the water systems of those who claim to have proof of the alternate universe, as well as members of the white house and the president himself is being investigated."

"It has been one week into the investigations concerning the supposed alternate universe and skeptics are in for a rude awakening today. Top officials from the CIA and other sources called in by the president have, through a supposed series of pictures of the subject carrying a device used to travel back and forth from here to its world, attempted to recreate a device of their own used to see if there is indeed… a world made of all the little characters on the other side of the television screen."

"We have made contact, I repeat, we have made contact with the other side! It's… it's incredible, all of these guys I grew up with as kids! It's amazing!"

"Attempts to steal the device to recreate and sell on the black market have caused a heightened security by the FBI and the CIA, as people scramble to try to see this world that we only believed existed in our minds and on the television screens…"

"We have taken several weeks to study the… the safety and stability of this contact, and what we could be opening up ourselves to here. We have taken… measurements of radioactive levels and this seems to be no threat. We have… made contact with some of these characters… and they are willing to try to help us… with peace efforts. I, as your president, want to ensure the safety of all my citizens, and do what I can to help promote domestic and global peace among all countries."

* * *

I sigh as we all sit in a waiting room. Currently, Turbo, Ralph, Rosie, Felix, Calhoun, Vanellope and I were all waiting outside the "big mouse's" office; that's right, Mickey Mouse… because of the recent happenings and how serious they could be to all of cartoonverse. Yes, as I had learned in the past few weeks after all the battling that had ensued, there was a much larger world outside of the arcade, even outside of the world of Disney that it resided in. But for now, as Mickey called us inside, we had this problem to worry about.

Mickey paced about before sitting at his desk before looking at us intensely. It was pretty hard not to want to hug or fangirl the mouse to death; I mean, it's Mickey after all. I looked around and noticed he had a number of portraits of himself in a progression through the years as well as a few of his friends like Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto, and I couldn't help but smile at a group photo of him with the characters from Kingdom Hearts. Now THAT was awesome. But my moment was broken by Mickey clearing his throat, sighing a bit.

"Now. I let you folks live in your worlds and run them however you need to run them. That is what was decided when it was becoming too hard for me to be able to govern over ALL the Disney film characters. But now we've been threatened. I should have known that a movie about video games would cause problems and here we stand." He approached Turbo. "Do you remember what we had to do the last time someone tried to interact and bring a human back to our world?"

Calhoun cleared her throat. "Mister mouse, we've been around for barely a year. We hardly know anything about what's outside the arcade, and we're just recuperating from some problems we had."

Mickey sighed. "Yes, I should have known it was a bad idea to try to let Goofy educate all of you on basic Disney protocol… but anyhow. Humans have now discovered our true world and have made contact. It was somewhere in Hasbro Hub and if they find any other provinces it could be disastrous! Our worlds cannot mix, it must be separated by a television screen! Any further contact could spell trouble for us! And having THIS human here now is a direct threat to our world! What if they think we kidnapped her? What if they are hostile? Humans have the potential to wipe out EVERYTHING here!"

I bit my lip. "I… I didn't mean to cause trouble. Before a few months ago I never thought you all even really existed and now… I've made such wonderful friends."

"And it should have remained unknown to you. I could put Turbo in prison for this. But being this is partly my fault for not making sure I properly educated all of you on this, I will spare him this one time. But just know that security will be increased and any, I repeat, ANY, sightings of humans must be reported. In addition, THIS human, is to be sent home immediately and not return!"

My heart sank, and Turbo looked from Mickey and me. "But… but I… we… we care about each other." Turbo said quietly.

"I'm sorry Turbo, but this is how it has to be. We will be returning her to the human world after you say your goodbyes. You won't be able to see each other again."

Rosie covered her mouth lightly in shock, deeply upset. "She's my best friend!"

Mickey sighed. "This is my final decision. It's for everyone's good. You can either abide to it, or break the law. I'm sorry folks. It's the only thing I can do. I have to protect Disney citizens."

We were all somber on our way back to the arcade. "Golly… it's sure going to be different without Kara around." Felix said.

"We have to follow Mickey's rules. It's unfortunate, but we've got no other choice." Calhoun replied.

"I'm gonna miss you coming to my races and coming to the castle for snacks…" Vanellope said, looking up at me. "You saved our butt a few times… this seems like a stinky way to repay you."

I smiled sadly. "Don't worry, you guys… everything will be okay. Just remember the fun times we had together and… I'll just try to get back to life in my world…"

Turbo scuffed his foot on the ground. "That stupid mouse… how dare he try to separate us! I outta beat the code out of him!"

We all arrived at Game Central Station, each of us parting ways. I would have to leave tomorrow morning, and I gave tearful hugs to everyone but Turbo, Ralph and Felix, as I would go back to Fix-it-Felix Jr. with them. Once there, I gave Felix a warm hug before he went to the penthouse, heading back to our house with Turbo and Ralph.

"I'm really gonna miss you, Kara…" Ralph said sadly. "There's no way we can see each other again, even once?"

"It doesn't sound like it… Mickey wants humans to stay out of the cartoon world and… I'm unfortunately, human." I gently pat his arm. He had to bend down quite a bit to hug me, and he finally let up, patting my head gently before saying goodnight and going to his part of the house.

Turbo and I went to our room, and he hadn't really said much. I could tell he was trying to stay cool, but in his eyes I saw a mixture of emotions churning inside. I went over, hugging him close and he hugged me back. "Maybe… if I try hard enough… I can go to the barrier city and try to find you. Being I'm a good hacker and all… you and I could be able to see each other sometimes… even if there is a TV screen separating us."

I chuckled lightly. "Turbo, the last thing I want is for you to get in trouble. You already have gotten into enough trouble because of me."

"But it's not fair! We went through all this stuff and I actually learned to CARE about someone for what? What was all this for if you're just gonna go away anyway?"

"Because what you learned can stay with you even after I'm gone. Look at all the friends you've made. Look at the life you've built for yourself, the relationships you've mended. That all stays with you even when I can't." I said. "We should get some rest. I want to hug you one more time tomorrow before I have to go back."

Turbo nodded. "Okay…" I got up to go to my twin bed when I felt a gentle tug on my hand. "No… I… I want you near me." He said. I smiled a bit and nodded, and he hugged me close as I rested my head beside his. We tried to talk and stay awake for as long as we could, but sleep eventually took us both as night fell.

* * *

**A rather short chapter to start, but I assure you that there is more soon to come! Hope you liked, and as a short reminder, Rosie and all characters associated with Slam Dunk! and company are copyright of Dixie Darlin. :)**


	2. A Return to Normalcy

**Well, chapter two is coming right up! I wrote out a lot before I started posting, so you'll be getting the first few chapters rather quickly. Things are going to be bouncing back and forth and all over the place for a bit and it's going to be a bit difficult to make sense of. But once everything is really going in motion, it will come together. Enjoy, readers! :D**

* * *

The next morning, I sighed as I walked up to Mickey, Turbo staring at him darkly as he held my hand. "Turbo… you have to let go."

He shook his head, looking up at me forlornly. "I… I don't want to…"

"I don't want you getting into trouble. Please…"

"No! I shouldn't have to let you go! So what if you're human? You can stay here with me, with us! No one appreciates you back where you come from, you'll be all alone!"

"Enough." Mickey said. "Turbo, don't make this any harder than it is."

The others gathered around slowly to hold onto and support a heart broken Turbo, who began to show some of his old colors. "No, let go of me! LET GO OF ME! You won't be forgiven, you rat! I'll make you road kill!"

I sighed sadly, trying to hold back tears as I walked up to a wormhole like portal that would take me safely back to my world. "Mickey… just… know I never meant any harm, and… I wish you all luck. Please take care of my friends for me."

"I'll make sure of that. I'm sorry that you have to be treated this way, but I have to keep everyone safe. Thank you for understanding and cooperating." Mickey replied.

I nodded, glancing back at Turbo one more time before entering the portal. In just a matter of seconds, I was back in my house, grunting a bit as I got to my feet. I looked around, noticing everything was exactly as I had left it, or so it seemed. I looked over at the broken coffee table, sighing as I walked over and cleaned up the broken pieces. I brought the table frame outside to the curb and cleaned up the dried blood stain as much as I could. I flopped onto my couch, looking around my house and sighing. I showered, had something to eat, and went upstairs, sitting on my bed and hugged my knees. It was there that what happened today began to sink in, and I inhaled deeply as I sobbed heavily into my knees. I cried for what seemed like hours before lying on my side, curled up as I realized that I had been banned from the one place where I felt like I truly belonged.

* * *

Everyone was silent at first as they ate at Burgertime… they decided that with today's events that it'd be better to stay closer to home. It was an off day in the arcade thankfully, and tension was high with Turbo being upset.

"Hey… how are you feeling?" Rosie was the first who dared to speak.

"How do you think I feel? My best friend just got torn from me and she took my heart with it." He replied.

"Maybe if you stopped by my castle later I could make you something that could cheer you up." Vanellope said. "Maybe a chocolate shake or something."

"Kid, nothing in this entire arcade, let alone your kingdom, if gonna cheer me up now. The one person I want is gone."

"Turbo, I understand you must be feeling the blues, I mean, I'd be torn to pieces if Tammy and I were separated… but you've got a long life ahead of you, and we're all here to get you through this, okay buddy?" Felix pat Turbo's shoulder lightly, smiling hopefully.

"… I need to be alone for a while. Don't bother me." Turbo replied as he hopped to his feet, shuffling towards Fix-it-Felix Jr.

"Oh boy…" Calhoun sighed. "He's gonna be like this for a while. Let's just give him some space."

Ralph looked on sadly, feeling terrible that everyone was happy and Turbo didn't have his someone to be happy with anymore.

* * *

I came back from my job, telling them I had been sick for a few weeks. Though it felt like a long time in cartoonverse, the time difference for the real world was far shorter. I had a bag with me, taking out a picture frame I had bought. I went in my room, opening a drawer and taking out a group picture of me and my friends from the arcade. I smiled sadly, placing it inside the picture frame and putting it on my night stand. Now, I felt lonelier than ever. I looked to my cell phone sitting on my dresser. A short time ago, I would have never put the thing down, and now… I picked it up, and to my surprise, it still had some battery life in it. I suppose it had only been a few weeks, some cell phones can last this long even without being used, I guess. I picked it up, seeing I had received messages from an old friend, and tons of them. I sighed, dialing his number and calling him. If anyone would believe what happened to me, it would be him. After a few rings, I heard him pick up.

"My God, Kara?!"

"Hey Rafael… we have a lot to catch up on."

"A lot to catch up on?! You haven't answered for weeks! I was panicking over here, I thought you were dead or in a coma or something!"

"No… I'm sorry I haven't answered, but I couldn't. Do you have time to talk for a bit?"

"Actually… I'm in New York."

"What? How did you get here all the way from Texas?"

"An airplane, duh… but I was so scared for you, I needed to see if you were okay!"

"Well, that was… really sweet actually. But anyway… let me give you directions to my place. I promise, I will explain everything. I'll call back later." After I hung up, I sighed, going to my pantry for a snack. I furrowed a brow. "Wow… I don't remember leaving it THIS empty…"

* * *

Turbo curled up in his bed, looking across the room at my twin bed, neat as a pin and untouched. All around the room were pictures of all of us, and he hugged his pillow, shutting his eyes tightly as he sniffled a bit.

"What am I going to do without her…? I was just fine before she came into my life, so I should be fine now, right? No… no, I wasn't fine before. I was heartless. I didn't care about anyone except myself." He said to himself. "What if I go back to my old ways? What if I stop caring about everyone… anyone…" He sighed. "Then I'll make everything she and I went through together mean nothing. I have to make it all matter… I don't have to be the person I was on the movie screens. I can… will… be better."

* * *

Rafael was silent for several moments on the other end of the line, having called back. "… so it's true… there's… there's a whole world?"

"Yes. It's true. But Rafael, you can't tell anyone else I was there. They may come after me."

"They may already come after you! If they have pictures of you, they'll figure out who you are, they'll take you away! I'm coming over. I should be there in a few hours."

"Okay. Be careful please, drivers in New York can be hot dogs." I hung up, getting up to make sure the house was decent for when he came over. I was still pretty upset, but at least having some company would do me some good.

A few hours later, I heard a knock at the door. I peeked through the blinds to make sure it was him before answering. We hugged tightly, and I couldn't help but start to sniffle a bit.

"Hey, hey, relax… it'll be okay." Rafael said as he came in. I shut and locked the door behind me.

"I'm sorry… it's just… everything I had is gone… I belonged there, I… I had powers… I don't have anything like that anymore…"

"But you've still got things here, too… you've got me, and you know now you're a strong person. If you can battle all those enemies and survive…"

"Yeah… I guess that's true." I sighed and nodded. "You want something to eat? I have snacks too. Take a look around." I said as I blew my nose.

"Food!" He said as he looked around, grabbing some cookies to munch on. "These are awesome."

"You're welcome." I rolled my eyes playfully. "So, Mickey gave me some details as to what's happening here… care to fill in the cracks?"

"Well, everyone is going crazy. Half the world believes what's going on and the other half pretty much thinks we're all on drugs."

"Not a surprise…" I said as I sat down with some hot chocolate.

"But another thing that's crazy… is since the government has been looking into this stuff, some weird stuff has been going on."

"How do you mean?"

"Just… stuff on the news, like… people are acting even more out of control than usual. Like, everywhere. The CIA or whatever checked for radiation or chemical threats but found nothing coming from this cartoon world."

I sighed. "It's just people being people. They react to any little change like it's a huge thing. Take black Friday shoppers. They hear about one little sale and it's like the end of the world if they don't get a piece. People are like sheep… they follow the biggest, baddest mouth and don't have minds of their own. They are so easily influenced by others that if it was a clown taking a dump it would still make some kind of sense. That's what people are… senseless."

"You don't have to tell me that twice… but what are we going to do now?" Rafael asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you have actually seen… experienced this place. Aren't you worried someone will eventually figure that out? They might lock you up in area 51 for all you know."

"Rafa… I just… I want to try to get back to some kind of routine being the one I had was taken from me. I'm glad you're here because… I don't want to go through this alone."

"Yeah… that's gotta suck, making all those friends and then…" He sighed sadly. "But… would you have just forgotten about me?"

"Well… you can't just go by these past few weeks, I mean, a LOT of crazy stuff happened when I was in cartoonverse. You know, all the battling and stuff."

"Yeah… that was crazy… you had this other person living inside you this whole time. Kind of scarier than that one thing in Japan where the dude had a woman living in his house for a year and had no idea."

I chuckled. "That WAS crazy… and creepy." I looked at the time. "It's getting pretty late… I set up the spare room upstairs for you. Do you need anything else?"

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks for letting me stay over."

"Pfft, yeah, like I'm gonna throw you out now or make you sleep in your car. I'm not heartless, you know…"

"I know." We got up, and got ready for bed. "Hey, Kara?"

"Hm…?" I said, brushing my teeth.

"Look, everything's gonna be okay, alright? I'm here for you. We'll figure this out."

I smiled lightly, nodding. "Yeah… thanks, Rafa. I'm really glad you're here. It helps… immensely."

"Me too. Well, goodnight." He nodded to me, heading to his room for the time being.

Maybe I wasn't completely alone here, after all…

* * *

"Mr. President, the subject in question has agreed to a meeting with you. I explained protocol and they agreed." A CIA agent reported.

"Excellent. With all the terrorism and violence threatening our country, maybe this is what this world needs to finally seek peace. It's a long shot, and perhaps even unethical… but it's worth a try."

"But sir… this is going to be… I mean, they're… they're gonna stick out like sore thumbs… and we haven't even measured their level of intelligence yet…"

"Listen, my kids have heard of these characters. They're all about being happy and friendly so what could go wrong? If they could somehow convince the world leaders to come together and settle their differences, this would be the most incredible feat in global history. When is the meeting scheduled for?"

"Tomorrow at 11 am sharp." The CIA agent replied.

"Good. I want a full list of who will be attending and I want absolutely no video or photos at the meeting. If this goes well, I will have a UN meeting held and have them speak there. But first, we need to make sure we're on the same page, which may take some time, and then have a game plan in set. I want what is discussed at the meeting to be recorded on print for the archives. Did you check them for potential weapon threats?"

"Yes sir. It seems they don't… really have weapons. Kind of hurts my eyes a bit looking at them, even with the sunglasses. Too vibrant."

"Alright. Just have a check on them before they come tomorrow and then we should be ready to go. Be ready to follow up."

"Yes, Mr. President."

* * *

**Well, well, well! Already some new faces and schemes are under way! This ride has barely started, so hang tight and stay tuned everyone! More to come!**


	3. A Rude Awakening

**And here we are with chapter three! I -might- post one more tonight but if I don't get a chance, this is it for today. This one starts out rough but I promise the end is quite funny! Don't get too comfy though, this ride's gonna go for it's first dip quite soon! Please enjoy. :D**

* * *

"Today on NBC news, a rumor of a secret meeting with characters from the recently discovered alternate universe will be taking place at the white house today. Despite people desperately trying to see anything, the white house is heavily guarded and no one is allowed within a ten yard radius from the white house, and some roads have been closed off to the public. News reporters have attempted to get a statement, but none are being given at this time. What is under discussion at this time, or who is doing the discussing, is for now, a mystery. We will be following this story and will alert you of any updates we receive. For now, all we can do is wait, and speculate. That's all for this evening, and have a good night."

* * *

Rebel and Blitz wiped their brows and went off to the side for a quick drink of water as they took a break from their game.

"Man blitz, I have to say, you're on fire today…"

"Wh- What?! I'm on fire?" He looked around at himself.

Rebel rolled his eyes. "So much for the compliment… hey, Turbo!"

Turbo was sulking as he walked over to them. "What is it?"

"Man… you've got to snap out of this funk. You've hardly won any races today… not like you."

"Well I'm sorry if I can barely concentrate, what do you want from me?"

"Look, man. I get that you're going through a rough time. But you can't let it consume every aspect of your life. Life goes on. You survived for years after our game got unplugged like it was nothing. What's the difference now?" Rebel said.

"The difference is that I didn't have a heart then. I do now. I just… I feel so empty."

"Well then you need to fill up, silly!" Blitz giggled. "Come on, maybe some root beer will help!"

"Root beer…" Turbo sighed. "Well, we've got about a half an hour until we're done, then I guess I can try it."

After the last quarter drop, the triplets washed up and called it a day, meeting Ralph and Felix at GCS as Rosie invited Calhoun to a girls' night out with Raven and Summer, and Vanellope was still doing a roster race.

"Hey there, Turbo… have a good day racing?" Felix asked.

"Not really… but the bros and I are going to head to Tapper's. You guys in?" Turbo replied.

"Oh, we were gonna head to Burgertime but I could go for a root beer or two." Ralph said.

"Good. Let's head over."

Once inside, the five guys each took a stool, and a mug was slid down to them as they all took a drink. They all talked casually except for Turbo, who Felix started to notice was downing one root beer after the other.

"Hey, Turbo… slow down a bit. I always get foam sick if I drink too much." Felix said. He was on his first glass still, taking a sip every once in a while.

"Just because you're a pansy doesn't mean I have to be, Fix-it. Don't bother me." Turbo grumbled as he slid another empty mug away from him.

"He has a point Turbo… you don't look too good. Just take it easy." Ralph said.

"Oh, okay, so I lose my best friend, FOREVER, and I'm supposed to be dandy, right? So if you lost Rosie, or even someone you care about like Felix, you're just gonna be rainbows and sunshine, right?" Turbo snapped.

"That's not what I meant Turbo… this isn't going to help anyone by you being-"

"So obviously you know everything, you tell me how I should feel then. Tell me how YOU think I should handle this!"

Felix waved his hands down. "Turbo, you're making a scene…"

"You think this is just a joke, don't you?! Just like when my game was being competed against thirty years ago, or when I lost everything when I was discovered in Sugar Rush, or when I had to fight a psycho chick, TWICE, to save my best friend who I almost lost several times in the process, only to have her sent away like she's a piece of garbage! Oh just calm down, Turbo, oh just get over it Turbo, everything's gonna be fine! Well every time someone told me it was going to be fine, every time I've convinced myself that I've covered all the bases and things were gonna work out, they DON'T! They just don't! My whole life is one big game and I'm sick of playing it!" He slammed his mug down and hopped off the stool, stumbling out of Tapper's.

Ralph looked around, seeing the other characters in the bar staring at Turbo as he stumbled out. "Look guys, just… he's going through a lot right now. Give him a break." Ralph said, sighing as he stood up. "Guys, we should make sure he doesn't get hurt."

"Yeah… poor Turbo… I didn't think he was going to take it this hard… don't get me wrong, I'm upset Kara's gone too… but he's so broken up over it…" Felix said.

"We'll come too." Rebel says. "Our brother needs us."

The four went out, searching for the very depressed racer. After some searching, they found him slumped on the floor by some seating in GCS, hugging his knees and groaning.

"Turbo… come on, you have to get up… " Blitz said. "We're gonna get you home, okay buddy?"

Turbo looked up at him in a daze. "Blitz… why are there… three of you…?

"Come on. We need to help him up." Rebel said, and he got on one side and each twin took an arm, hoisting Turbo up as they helped him back to Fix-it-Felix Jr.

* * *

The girls giggled a bit as they watched a cheesy B-rated horror movie. "Is anyone out there actually scared of this stuff?" Raven asked.

"They have to be really stupid if they are…" Summer replied.

"Guys, if anyone knows scary, it's gotta be Tammy. I mean, she has to kill cybugs every day." Rosie commented.

"Eh, you get used to it after a while… except when they eat someone you love." Calhoun cringed.

"Yeah, I heard about your first husband… I'm so sorry about that. I'm glad you at least found Felix." Summer said.

"Well, Brad wasn't officially my husband… he almost was. But yeah… that Felix, he's a great guy. He gives me strength." Calhoun smiled.

"Man, I wish Mike would ask me out already… I want a special someone that gives ME strength." Raven said, referring to one of the basketball players from their game.

"Raven, you know the guy barely talks. He is so into his game that he doesn't have time for anyone else. I still can't believe Rosie and Ralph are together, who would have thought!" Summer said.

"Yeah… glad you found someone that makes you happy, Rosie." Raven smiled.

"Thanks, guys…" She sighed a bit sadly then. "I miss Kara though… Turbo has been a mess since she's gone… and she was a great friend."

"Yeah… I hated her at first, but after finding out everything that happened with that crazy doctor, I felt pretty bad. I never got to apologize to her." Raven frowned.

They were all silent for a few moments, thinking about the past few weeks and everything that had happened. After some time, Rosie spoke up. "Look… this… there has to be something we can do… look at all she did for us…"

"Not without breaking the law, there isn't. And we're not doing that. We just have to accept things the way they are. We have no other choice." Calhoun sighed. "And Turbo has to realize this too. Time to move on."

* * *

I groaned as I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "Ugh… what in the hell is he doing…?" I got up, sighing as I heard shuffling sounds coming from downstairs. I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard footsteps following me, gasping when I saw Rafael behind me. "What are you doing?!" I whispered loudly.

"What are you talking about? I heard something downstairs and-…" We both realized the problem with this situation then, and we both looked toward the kitchen. "Rafa, I KNOW I locked my doors and all the windows are locked… so that means-"

"Whatever is down there has been in your house this whole time." Rafael finished, and a chill went down my spine.

"Crap, what do we do?! What if it comes after us? Uh… okay. Grab my sword from my room. Quickly!" I said, and Rafael hurriedly retrieved it, bringing it to me. He also grabbed one of my wooden weapons I had about to hold for himself.

We both descended the stairs as quietly as possible, my eyes wide as I saw light coming from my kitchen. I took in a sharp breath, slowly peeking around the corner to see my refrigerator was open… and someone, or something, was rummaging through it. I also saw a pile of wrappers from various things from my pantry on the counter top. I furrowed my brows, blinking as I heard a belch and one of my milk cartons were tossed behind the suspect… completely empty.

"Dang… how in the hell did a hobo get in?" Rafa whispered. "Eating all the good stuff too."

I turned back to him and whispered as quietly as possible. "Okay. We don't know who this person is, what weapons they have, or what they're capable of. I'll go in and try to ruffle their feathers. If they try to come after me, just back me up. When we get this sucker pinned, you call the cops, okay?" I said.

"Got it. Just be careful. If they do anything to you I'll have to rip their tongue out." Rafa replied.

"Eww… that's gross." I replied. "Okay. On the count of three. One… two… three…!"

I ran into the kitchen, screaming as I wielded my samurai sword. I flung the refrigerator door open all the way to reveal the culprit, and I ceased screaming as I stopped dead in my tracks, in absolute shock. My mouth hung open, and I tilted my head for a moment. There, standing in front of me with a tub of ice cream and some chocolate bars, was none other than;

"King Candy?!" I screamed.

"Kara, everything okay in there? What's going o- WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS THAT?!" Rafael screamed.

King Candy stood there, blinking as he looked at us with a spoon hanging out the corner of his mouth. He took it out with a small 'pop' sound, licking his lips. "What'sth the matter? Other than the fact there'sth no more ith cream…"

"I- ho- what are you doing here?!" I asked. "You're raiding my fridge!"

"Well, I'm a king, ith naturally everyone'sth job to make sure I'm accommodated for…" He tossed the spoon, going over to my pantry. "Thith just won't do! I meant to ask you to lower thesth shelves when you got back from wherever you were…"

I stood there, dumbfounded. "Wait, wait, wait. How long have you BEEN here?!"

"Hm… in human weekth, about… two. Asth long asth you've been gone."

"But… how… how were you able to GET here? Do you have one of those device things? That Turbo had?" I asked.

"This is when I just go back to bed and pretend none of this is happening-" Rafael started.

"You stay your rear RIGHT there!" I yelled at him.

"Well, sthee… I kind of WASTH Turbo. Like, we shared the sthame body, sthomething or other. But when Turbo came here, I justh popped out." He proceeded to make a popping noise and whisking motion with his hand. "I had no idea where I wasth! I finally sthaw Turbo following you to a car, but you drove off and theth legs are quick, but not THAT quick. Stho I searched every houth until I found yourth. Everyone in thith world keepth everything locked, eh- like a fortreth! Anywayth, when I found your houth, I sthaw something going on, and Turbo looked disthtraught, and everyone dithappeared. Stho I just sthayed here and helped mythelf to your thingth. Quite tathty fudge you had there."

"I KNEW I noticed a bunch of stuff missing!" I pouted. "You could have at least let someone know you've BEEN here this whole time!" I sighed. "Look. There's a lot going on right now so we all just need to cooperate. Do you have any idea what's happened back in your world in the last few weeks…?"

"Hmm… nope. I've been here thith whole time… I wasth wondering why no one wath coming in and out…"

"Oi vey… alright. First, you will go sleep on the couch and REFRAIN from eating any more of my food. Tomorrow I will go food shopping and figure out what to do with you."

"The couch? Hoo hoo, thath ridiculousth! I'm going to thleep in that comfy bed that you sthole from me when you came home."

I blinked. "You've been sleeping in MY bed?! Nonononono. No more. Your frilly behind is staying on the couch."

"Who do you think I am, mithy? I'm KING Candy, I need to be pampered! After all, ith your fault I had to go all over creation to find thith plath to begin with, I outta put you in the fungeon jutht for that!"

"Well guess what? The only Fungeon here is in MY basement and it's MINE. This is MY house. Either follow MY rules or get out. And now, it's all over the news that cartoons actually exist. Go out there, and you're fresh meat for some psycho fangirls or the government."

"Wha- how dare you?!" King Candy stomped up to me, shaking a finger at me. "That ith no way to sthpeak to royalty! You will either meet my demandth or fathe the conthequenthes!"

I raised a brow, narrowing my eyes. Several minutes later, I locked the knob of the coat closet downstairs as a very angry King Candy flipped out inside. "Well, I should be able to get a few more hours of sleep now…"

"You know I'm not having anything to do with this, right?" Rafael said.

"You know that I'm not gonna let what you just said fly, right?" I replied as we headed upstairs.

"Hey! Let me out of here at onth! You are going to be exthecuted when I get my handth on you!" King Candy shouted from inside the closet, plopping down on his rear and crossed his arms. "Thith is unbelievable. I finally have the freedom I detherve and I have to deal with ungrateful sthubjecth! The people of thith world are completely dithloyal and rude!" He grumbled, lying down on his side uncomfortably as he attempted to get some sleep.

The next morning, I yawned as I got up, making some pancakes for breakfast. I walked up to the closet to open it, seeing a very pouty and grumpy King Candy inside. "Now… if you behave, and are nice… I'll get you some goodies to have when I go shopping. And MAYBE if you're also good I can clean up one of the other spare rooms upstairs for you to sleep in. Deal?"

King Candy glanced up at me, his arms still crossed. "You promith?"

"I promise." I smiled.

"Well, alright…" He got up, dusting himself off. "It was freething in there!"

"Yeah, it gets cold in the coat closet. Now come on. Pancakes are on." I smiled. King Candy smiled and sighed contently at the aroma, and I raised a brow and giggled a bit as he literally floated into the kitchen like he would from the movie. This was going to be quite an interesting time.

* * *

**King Candy has finally made a grand entrance into my fanfiction! How will I be able to deal with him? Will Rafael bail? Will Turbo and the others be able to get past my leaving? More answers- and questions- to be revealed in upcoming chapters! Stay tuned!**


	4. A Troublesome Girl

**This is gonna be the last one for tonight, folks. For now, this will be a lot for you guys and gals to digest, and things, as you will see in this chapter, are already starting to take a dark turn. Please read and enjoy! :D**

* * *

"I bet you can't do it!" Taffyta smirked.

"Of course I can! What do you take me for? I just don't want to mess up my perfect smooth curl! You know, not all guys spend less than two seconds on their hair!" Rancis scoffed.

"Fine. We'll come with you to the land of Creepypasta, and see what you've got. But I'm telling you, you're gonna be crying like a big diaper baby." Candlehead replied.

"Guys, maybe this isn't a good idea. You know that area is off limits for characters with a scripted age of twelve and under." Gloyd noted.

"What are you guys up to?" Everyone turned as Vanellope walked up to them. "What's off limits now?"

"Land of Creepypasta." Gloyd said. "It sounds scary. I don't want to go."

Vanellope blinked. "You guys want to go THERE?!" She gasped. "It's really dangerous! That's where Kara fought that doody head doctor and all his creepy nurses and stuff. There's all these other monsters there too. You guys'll stick out like sour grapes!"

Somewhere not far from them, Sour Bill just sighed lightly at that comment.

"Well, if you can make it out of there, then we can too. Besides, the phishing police already cleared out the place where everything got messy. So we just want to check out the remains." Taffyta said. "Nothing wrong with that, right? Heck, it might end up being boring."

Rancis piped up. "Well, I'm not scared!"

"Prove it! Let's go there right now!" Taffyta said, sticking a lollipop in her mouth before they headed off.

"W- Wait you guys!" Vanellope ran after them. The other racers were too scared to go, so the only ones that dared to venture there were Taffyta, Rancis, Swizzle, Candlehead and Vanellope.

* * *

Turbo shuffled his feet as he sighed lightly, heading to nowhere in particular. He had been pretty out of it since last night at Tapper's, and Felix suggested he go out and about. Not knowing where to go, he decided that maybe a ride through the inter-trak would take him somewhere where he could at least occupy himself. He saw some of the Sugar Rush racers getting on the trak as well, paying little attention to them. Once boarded, he looked around for a moment before spending the rest of his time staring at his feet. He got off at Port Station, wandering around for a while, overhearing some conversations along the way.

"Just what we need, humans coming to cartoonverse! Could you imagine?! They're so juvenile!"

"Everywhere I look! I try to look up myself in the gallery of fanart and all I see are those stupid horse things! There's at least one in every section! They're so stupid with those goo goo eyes!"

"Did you hear? The Browns are getting ready to move to cancelville… though I heard there's a chance they might move back to Quahog, but nothing is confirmed yet…"

Turbo continued walking along until he started to get hungry. He once again saw the racers from Sugar Rush racers running around port station towards the search way, rolling his eyes. "They better not be up to anything that's gonna get them into trouble… I want no part of it if they do." He said to himself as he got himself a cinnamon bun, reminiscing how he and I would always get one together.

* * *

"Guys, we are gonna be in SO much trouble!" Vanellope said as they all squished into the search way.

"Vanellope, stop being such a baby. You're the most daring of ANY of us, and you've been here before, so quit whining. Now show us how to work this thing, so we can get going." Taffyta said.

"Fine…" Vanellope sighed. "Move over." She typed a few things and clicked a few buttons on the pad, and they were zipping off in no time. They soon arrived, and the usually talkative racers were silent for a few moments as they took a step forward, looking around at the dreary, chilling world around them. The dirt road was framed by a high chain link fence where barren land as far as the eye could see was dotted with creatures deadly, violent, impulsive and scary from all around the internet.

"Woah…" Candlehead breathed. "Where are all the colors? The… anything?"

"This is it. All of the scary monsters have to be kept behind those fences or they'll… kill ya." Vanellope said.

"Ugh, they're disgusting. Come on, let's go to where you guys saw that creepy doctor." Taffyta said.

"Taffyta, that's SUCH a long walk! Can't we just go before we get caught?" Vanellope groaned.

"Well, you could glitch us there…" Swizzle said.

Vanellope rolled her eyes. "Okay. If I glitch you guys there for FIVE minutes, and back, you all have to shine my car."

"Oh come ON! We have to shine our OWN cars!" Rancis whined.

"And I'M the president and you guys aren't listening! So take it or leave it." Vanellope replied.

Taffyta pursed her lips. "Whatever. Let's go. I wanna see how big of a peep Rancis is."

"Shut up, Taffyta! You're the one who'll be screaming!" Rancis growled. They all hung on to Vanellope as she glitched them down the long, winding dirt road.

* * *

The president sat at his desk, sighing a bit. "Those discussions went better than I thought. I think this will be good for not just this nation, but the world. If we can have the countries come to some kind of consensus and make peace negotiations… this will make history… and it may change the world for the better. I'll have them brought to the UN meeting and see what happens from there."

"Sir… do you think any of the other council members will take this… seriously? I mean… they're cartoons." The CIA agent commented.

"Don't worry. I have something planned. It will work out." The president stood, walking out of the room. "Everything will be fine."

* * *

"Alright, we're here." Vanellope said as she finished glitching the other racers to the pit there Dr. Thorne's asylum once stood.

"Woah." Swizzle raised his brows. "There was actually a BUILDING here?!"

"Yup. It all crumbled into there and there was all this chemical acid stuff and then BOOM!" Vanellope said.

"Huh. Taffyta tilted her head." I wanna see what's down there."

"Taffyta, you can see just fine from up here!" Rancis said.

"What, are you scared? I knew it. Peep!" She laughed.

"No, but I don't feel like getting my outfit soiled! I already had it dry wrappered this week!" Rancis crossed his arms.

"Fine. Candlehead and I will go."

"I dunno Taffyta, that's a bit of a drop… we might get hurt." Candlehead craned her head to look over the edge.

"Yeah, and you only have two minutes to your original five minutes left, so you'd never be able to get back up in time. Let's just go." Vanellope said.

"Ugh, you guys are SO lame! I'm gonna see what's down there being I'm apparently the only brave one!" Taffyta said. She bit her lip in concentration as she neared the edge, sitting down and scooting forward. "Now if I just…"

"Be careful Taffyta!" Candlehead frowned.

"One, two…" Taffyta took in a breath.

"Come on Taffyta, don't do this. If you get hurt I'll have to listen to ya crying like a baby the whole way back!" Vanellope groaned.

"… three." She tried to slide down the sides, thinking she would get to the bottom that way. But the walls of the 30-40 foot pit were too steep, and her behind lost contact with the inner wall. She gasped, flailing her arms as she tried to grab the side only to land harshly below.

"Taffyta!" Candlehead shrieked. "Taffyta, let me come get you!"

"Are you crazy? You'll fall too!" Swizzle frowned.

"V- Vanellope, glitch down there and get her!" Rancis squeaked.

"Why don't you guys just LISTEN to me so this doesn't have to happen?" Vanellope shouted.

Taffyta groaned as she sat up, shaking her head. She heard voices from above, but she was in a bit of a daze. "What…" She blinked, trying to get to her feet but she winced as she felt a sharp pain in her foot. "Oh no…" She rolled up her pant leg to see a bruise already blossoming around her ankle in deep blues and purples. "Uh… guys, I think I broke my-" She hissed in pain.

"Huh? I can't hear you, speak up!" Vanellope shouted.

"What do you have globs of honey in your ears?! I said, I think-" Taffyta stopped mid-sentence when she heard a sound from somewhere in the pit. "What… what was that…?" She sat up a bit more, looking around her. In the ground around her and in the walls were parts of rusting appendages from Dr. Thorne's staff and other machinery. Taffyta gasped as a hollow face, long dead, seemed to stare at her from the wall of dirt caked around it. "Guys, this is creeping me out, get me out of here!"

Vanellope sighed. "Alright, fine. Just… I need to get these guys back to the search way first so I don't have ANOTHER one of you get hurt."

"What?! Nonononono you are NOT leaving me here by myself!" Taffyta shrieked.

"Good point… Candlehead, you keep an eye on Taffyta. Don't even THINK about trying to go in the pit, you understand?" Vanellope jabbed a finger at her.

"S- Sure… I'll stand right here." She replied.

"Good. I'll be right back." Vanellope said before she glitched away with the boys.

"Ugh… this is disgusting…" Taffyta said meanwhile. "All I try to do is have a little thrill and I get my ankle broken. This stinks. You think that I'd actually have something interesting going on! I mean, I can't brag about seeing this reeeeally scary thing if there's nothing-" She stopped, furrowing a brow as she heard something behind her. "What… what is…" She gasped lightly, using her one good leg to scramble backwards.

Candlehead sighed lightly. "Taffyta, are you okay down there?" She shouted, lying on her back and looking at the dark sky. When she heard a scream, she gasped, looking over the edge. "Taffyta, what's wrong?"

"S- Something's coming out of the ground, something's moving! Candlehead, get Vanellope, it's gonna kill me!" Taffyta screamed.

Candlehead gasped as she hopped to her feet. "I'll go get her, okay? Here, take this and beat it up!" She tossed down a rock to Taffyta before running off to find Vanellope.

* * *

Vanellope gave the boys a warning glare at the search way. "You are to march STRAIGHT back to Sugar Rush and NO where else, you understand?"

"O- okay, we'll do what you say…" Rancis stuttered.

"We promise." Swizzle added.

"Good. I'm gonna go back and get Candlehead and Taffyta. Remember what I said." Vanellope replied before disappearing.

Turbo was on his way back to the inter-trak when he saw the boys heading there as well. He suddenly snapped out of his depressed funk when he realized that they girls were not with them and they both had frightened expressions.

"Hey, what's going on? Weren't there… more of you here?" He asked them.

"W- Well… we… the five of us w- wanted to go on a little thrill hunt so we went to the land of Creepypasta, and-" Rancis started.

"What?! Rancis, that's off limits to you guys! You could get in trouble!" Turbo exclaimed.

"We already heard this from Vanellope." Swizzle rolled his eyes, but frowned a bit then. "The only thing is, Taffyta kinda fell into the pit where that crazy doctor lived and she may have broken something. Vanellope is going back for her."

"Are you kidding me?! Come on you two, we have to get you back and then someone needs to make sure SHE'S alright!" Turbo said as they headed for the trak. "Darn kids...!"

* * *

Taffyta couldn't back up any further as the thing before her clawed itself out of the dirt it was caked in. Some flesh seemed to cover the charred skeleton but not much as it slowly inched towards the frightened girl.

"You… you are the UGLIEST thing ever and you STAY away from me! I… I'll hit you with this!" Taffyta shouted. When it didn't seem to listen, she screamed as she threw the rock at it. The thing screeched, being stopped for a few moments before some flesh grew back where the rock had hit it. Taffyta whimpered, trying to get up and balance on one leg to grip at the dirt walls, pulling herself up but kept slipping down. She was about a few inches above the ground, looking back as the thing was just underneath her. As she tried to hoist herself up another couple inches, the thing grabbed her leg, and Taffyta screamed as she was yanked back down, hitting the ground with a thud. The thing hovered over her, and Taffyta's breathing quickened as she struggled. "Nono, stay away from me, please, don't kill me!" She cried, staring in horror as a small, black heart barely beat inside the charred ribcage. The thing screeched as Taffyta felt herself lose consciousness.

* * *

Candlehead was crying as she ran down the dirt road. "Vanellope! Vanellope, help!"

Vanellope was glitching, nearly missing Candlehead on the way as she stopped short. "Candlehead?! I told you to stay put!"

"I know, but I had to find you, something's trying to hurt Taffyta!" Candlehead cried.

"Then we have to hurry!" Vanellope took her hand and they glitched back to the pit. When Vanellope ran to the edge, she looked down to see what was happening. "Taffyta, Taffyta, are you okay?"

Taffyta's back was to them, leaning against the dirt wall. "Get me out of here. Now."

"What? I can't hear you!" Vanellope glitched down to her, gasping a bit when she saw a charred skeleton just inches from Taffyta. "Is this what tried to hurt you?"

"Yeah… don't worry, I took care of it. Just get me out of here."

"Okay… are you sure you're-"

"Just do as I say!" Taffyta growled. "Get me out of here and back to the surface! I've been in this pit long enough!"

"Hey, if you would have listened we wouldn't BE here! Just pipe down, will ya?" Vanellope said as she glitched her and Candlehead back to the station. As soon as they arrived, Ralph's large hands picked Vanellope up so he could look her over.

"Holy codes, are you alright?!" Ralph exclaimed. "What were you thinking?! You could have been hurt, or worse!"

"R- Ralph, I tried to tell them! They wouldn't listen! We have to get Taffyta to Dr. Mario, her ankle is hurt." Vanellope replied.

"Okay… but you kids are in SERIOUS time out, you got it?" Ralph said as they headed to the trak. Once in GCS, They escorted Taffyta to the hospital wing and the other racers back to their game. "Thanks for getting me, Turbo…" Ralph sighed. "That could have ended REALLY badly."

"Yeah… I don't ever wanna go in THERE again." Turbo sighed. "Those kids… at least they keep things interesting."

* * *

**Taffyta certainly got what she asked for and perhaps some things she didn't! Will the Sugar Rush racers stay out of trouble? Is the evil from the pit gone for good? More will be answered in time, so hang tight! **


	5. A Mystery Unsolved

**Greetings, readers! Here is a new chapter for you to read and enjoy! Things are still building up so a lot still won't make sense for now. I promise, everything will be revealed as it always is, but for now, things are going to leave a lot of unanswered questions. **

* * *

I thanked Rafael as he held the door open, having come home from grocery shopping. "King Candy." I called as I tossed him a tub of ice cream.

"Wo- woah!" He chirped as it juggled in his hands for a few moments before he finally caught it, hugging it to his chest. "Hoo hoo! Thanth, mithy!"

"You know, I have a name. It's Kara." I replied.

"Oh. Well, I can't read minth, you know."

"You never asked, either." I smiled knowingly, heading into the kitchen.

Rafael rolled his eyes, leaning in. "How long do we have to deal with this dude… he's really annoying."

"Until we figure out how to get him back where he belongs. And without a device, he's not going anywhere anytime soon." I replied. "So just hang tight for the time being."

Rafael groaned. "I'm taking a walk. I need to stop listening to his lisping for five minutes." He said, heading out the door.

"Wha- hey! Put a jacket on, it'd freezing out!" I shouted.

"I'm a guy, we wear tee shirts all year long!" He shouted back.

King Candy already had started eating his ice cream, waddling around the room. "Stho… do you have a throne room in thith joint?"

I sighed. "No, this is not a castle. There are no thrones."

"Well how am I sthuppothed to rule a kingdom without a throne?"

"Because this isn't a kingdom, King Candy! Do you have ANY idea where you are? This is the real world. People suffer and die here, people commit senseless crimes and do unspeakable things here! Any joy in the world is squashed by people who have nothing better to do but to make everyone miserable! And I'm trying to recover from being banned from the ONE place I actually belonged in and you're not helping me by making ridiculous demands!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Now sthee here, mithy! What YOU'RE going through doethn't matter in the sthlightetht to me. It'th Turbo'th fault that I'm here and now I'm sthuck with a sthtupid human who doethn't even fit in their OWN world! At leatht when I ruled MY kingdom, everyone lithenesd to me! Stho you're the latht one who should be telling thingth to me!" He straightened out his jacket collar and stormed upstairs. Halfway up, he finished off the small tub of ice cream, tossing the empty container and a spoon at me before continuing upstairs.

I sighed quietly, looking down at my feet. I heard footsteps behind me. "You know I'm gonna throw that guy to the curb, right?" I heard Rafael say.

"No. Just…" I shook my head as I walked into the kitchen, not even bothering to finish my sentence.

* * *

Vanellope brought Felix to the hospital wing, pointing to where Taffyta was. "There she is."

"Oh dear…" Felix said as he walked up to her. "Just stay still now…" He said as he approached her, rolling up her pant leg as gently as possible. Taffyta winced a bit, but the pain soon vanished when Felix tapped her ankle with his hammer. "There you are, good as new." He smiled.

"About time." Taffyta said simply as she hopped off the bed, walking away.

"Hey, aren't you going to even thank him?!" Vanellope exclaimed. "You better hope I don't break your face!"

Taffyta turned to Vanellope, staring darkly at her. "Don't… tell me… what to do. This is YOUR fault. If you would have just glitched me down there, things would have been easier. But no. You had to complicate things. So don't put this on me." She said as she turned around.

Vanellope furrowed a brow, becoming frustrated. "What is your problem, Taffyta? What did I ever do to make you act so mean to me? To anyone? What do you always have to act so stuck up for?" When she got no reply, she marched up to her, grabbing her hand. When they touched, a flicker of red pixels danced along Taffyta's hand before disappearing. Taffyta gasped lightly, yanking her hand back.

"Don't touch me, glitch!" Taffyta growled. "If you mess up my code I'll make you road kill!" She shoved Vanellope back harshly.

"Hey now, that's not nice!" Felix frowned, helping Vanellope up.

"What are you going to do about it, you little twerp? Fix everyone to death?!" Taffyta screamed, and people started to stare towards them.

"T- Taffyta… are you okay…?" Candlehead said as she approached her. "You seem tense…"

"Just stay away from me! All of you!" She glanced around. "I have work to do. Don't bother me." She stormed off, leaving everyone staring at her in shock.

* * *

I sat in the living room, sighing as I watched the television screen. Rafael was sitting next to me.

"Today on CBS 2 News, security levels are high as a highly anticipated UN meeting is taking place. No civilians can come within a quarter mile radius within the location, and all streets within that zone have been temporarily closed. There are rumors that accompanying the president today are the very cartoon characters that engaged in discussions with him previously this week at the white house. What is in store for our citizens and the people of the world? Who are these mysterious characters and what do they have planned for us? Will we be making contact with beings from beyond the barrier of reality? Only time will tell. No word on any details concerning the meeting but more to follow when we have any updates."

"Well we're gonna know who it is EVENTUALLY… so what's the big deal?" Rafael said.

"They have to wait for the right moment, Rafa. They may get the wrong idea." I replied.

"I guess so. But um… Kara?"

"Hm?"

"Just… about what that old fart upstairs said… it isn't true. You know that."

"Rafa… are you saying that to make me feel better or because it's a fact?"

"Kara, come on! You can't just let him talk to you like that!" Rafael frowned.

"He has a point. I… I'm a nobody here. I sit here in this house and barely a fraction of the world even KNOWS I exist and a fraction of THAT fraction gives a damn." I sigh. "The care I had for others was actually reciprocated in cartoonverse. Now… I mean, if you weren't here, what friends do I have? Who would actually call or come see me just to see if I'm alive or not? Who, Rafa? Any other friends I have out there are too far away."

He sighed. "Kara… he had no right to say that to you. He doesn't know you."

"Actually, he probably can read me just as well as everyone else does."

"I don't think anyone can just read you. You're… there's no one else out there like you. It's like… you don't belong in this world because you're better. You're not just part of some mindless crowd of people."

I smiled lightly. "Thanks, Rafa… you too."

Upstairs, King Candy was sitting at the top step, overhearing our conversation. He shuffled back down the hallway, hopping up to sit on the bed in the spare room. "Perhapth I wath a bit harsh… She did get my ith cream, after all… and thith ith her kingdom… maybe I should compromithe…" He said to himself. "I know what it'th like to be... invithible...

* * *

Turbo stood in the middle of GCS, looking around him. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion around him. He was always all about being fast, all about speeding forward and never going back. He took a step, then another. He began to question his very existence, his purpose. What had I come into his life for if I was just meant to be torn from it? Why did he have to have this void in his code, like empty, grey air? He felt like he was in a haze, a fog, and he couldn't see the end, or the beginning.

Felix sighed lightly , having noticed Turbo a few feet from them. He was with Tammy, having met up with Rosie and Ralph for a double date at a little place in port station. They had just come back.

"Look at him…" Rosie frowned. "It's like… he's so zoned out."

"Yeah… he just isn't acting like himself. He really can't cope well, can he?" Calhoun replied.

"There's got to be SOMETHING we can do. He'll become a perpetual mope if he keeps this up…" Felix looked up at Ralph.

Ralph cleared his throat, approaching Turbo who was looking up at nothing in particular. "Hey buddy… you want to do something?"

Turbo shook his head. "I just… I want to go to Mickey and ask him if I can do something… ANYTHING… to get her back."

"Turbo… you know he's gonna say no. Just… I don't think Kara would want you to be like this. She'd hate to see you all miserable. You've gotta try to have SOME fun. Race around, something." Ralph said.

"I… I thought I had found my place in life. But… with her gone… I feel like I have no reason to exist. Like, it was all for nothing. In the end, I failed to help the one person that mattered most." Turbo sighed.

"But Turbo, there are other people that care about you. You have to remember that. Everything that happened changed people's impressions of you. They saw you could do good. There's good in you. So… maybe it wasn't ALL for nothing."

Turbo was silent for a few moments. He was about to reply, when something caught his eye. He looked over to a light flicker in the distance. He squinted his eyes a bit, a bit surprised seeing Taffyta trying to act sneaky over by one of the terminal entrances. But when he saw a flicker of red pixels scale across her when she made contact with the wall, his eyes widened a bit.

"What is she doing over there?" Turbo asked.

"Who?" Ralph looked over. "Oh… it's just Taffyta. The kids are probably just doing their usual 'not staying out of trouble' antics…"

"No… something's off." Turbo said, as he felt something troubling in his gut. He started to follow her, Ralph looking back at the rest of the group with a bewildered expression. They followed a bit behind Turbo, who stayed far enough back from Taffyta to see what she was up to. He saw her board the inter-trak, hopping on just before departure.

"What in Sam Hill is going on?" Calhoun asked.

"I have no idea, he said something was up with Taffyta and he just… went after her." Ralph said.

"Hm… probably just making sure she's not going to get herself hurt again… I heard about that nasty ankle break." Rosie commented.

Turbo watched the girl closely. He stayed low, not wanting to be seen. He noticed her glancing around out of the sides of her eyes, raising her brow every once and again.

"What are you up to, kid… ?" Turbo muttered to himself. "He better not want to hurt Vanellope or anything like that…" Once the passengers got off the trak, he stayed close enough to see Taffyta through the crowd but far enough from her to remain undetected… or so he hoped. He saw her head for the search way, cursing to himself. "How in the heck am I supposed to see where the heck she goes without being caught?" He groaned. "Oh, what am I talking about, I'm a hacking genius… maybe I can just tweak the system and see where she went to last… yeah. I'm sure I can handle it, I'm a pro…" Once Taffyta departed, he quickly ran up to that particular pod, waiting for it to return. When it did about a minute or two later, he went in, rubbing his chin as he looked at the pad. "Now let's see here…" He began to type a few things to see if he could get any results. A few minutes later, he grinned proudly. "Yes, this must be it. 'Search history to see what your friends think are the hottest spots around the internet.'" He clicked a few buttons, scrolling to the last location traveled. "This must be it." He clicked it, and was whisked away in seconds.

* * *

I was making some dinner when I felt a light tugging on my shirt. I jumped a bit, looking down to see King Candy there. "S- Sorry… you startled me." I cleared my throat. "Do you need something?"

King Candy took a step back, twiddling his fingers. "I, uh… well, I wanted to apologithe… for what I thaid earlier. It wath… a bit mean. Ith jutht… my whole life wath controlled by Turbo. I wanted to finally be able to control thomething of my own. But… I wath jutht a jerk. Stho... do you forgive me?"

My expression softened, and I smiled lightly, crouching down to his level. "Yes, I forgive you. You don't have to worry about being controlled here. I know how you feel. I felt like my life has been controlled by other people and I'm always running around doing what everyone else wants, but not what I want."

King Candy nodded. "I alwayth felt like I wanted to be the king that I wath meant to be… love my thitizens but be rethpected too. But I had to live by what Turbo wanted me to be and that I wath just a dithguithe for hith plan. Like… like my purpothe for exithting was just to be a mathk for thomeone elth and then after that… nothing." He frowned at me. "I wath tho thcared…"

I frowned, biting my lip as I pulled him into a gentle hug. "Yeah… sometimes I'm scared too… that I'm so invisible to the world that I'll disappear."

"You won't be invithible to me. I promithe." King Candy smiled, patting my back gently.

Rafael watched silently from the living room, making a face. "I don't trust this guy…" He said to himself. "What is he up to…?"

* * *

Turbo furrowed a brow as he went into the blank, white place the search way had taken him to, looking around to see nothing but white in all directions until he saw large writing. "Page under construction…" He shook his head. "What the heck… this can't be right. She probably went to some kind of girly place or-" He stopped when he saw Taffyta in the distance, standing in front of what looked like a blank body with no detailed features, like a blank avatar. Before he could really see what was going on, Taffyta whirled around, a scowl in her features as she marched up to him.

"What do you think you're doing, you stalker?!" She growled. Turbo was dumbfounded for several seconds, unable to reply quick enough. "I asked you a question, headlight eyes!"

"Wha- I just saw you going off somewhere by yourself and I wanted to make sure you weren't gonna get in trouble again!" Turbo said, before narrowing his eyes a bit. "And watch who you're insulting, young lady."

Taffyta slowly leaned in, staring at him intensely. "What I do with myself is none of your business. Leave me alone, or you're going to regret coming here."

Turbo shook his head. "Who do you think you are talking to me like tha-" Before Turbo could finish, Taffyta shoved him down in one swift move and yanked the top half of his body up by his collar.

"I said… leave me… alone." She shoved him back, before going back to whatever she was working on. More red pixels flickered along her body, and Turbo could do nothing but retreat for now and tell the others what had happened here. "Soon…" Taffyta said quietly to herself, looking up at the avatar body. "Soon."

* * *

**What is going on here? Taffyta is being brattier than usual, so what could she be up to? And is King Candy sincere in his apology? And what is going on with the government (like that's a question not asked every day already)? More to come throughout the week, so stay tuned! This roller coaster's barely started! **


	6. An Unexpected Turn

**I was going to finish this chapter tomorrow but I have to say I just could not stop writing. So here you are with chapter six! Read and enjoy! :D**

* * *

Mickey sat down with the overseers from a couple other local cartoon provinces. A faceless, orange "person" that did not speak, but would use his finger to write orange letters in the air with a "splat" effect was the overseer of any and all Nickelodeon toons, and a black and white "person" with a TV for a head was the overseers for Cartoon Network, and communicated with words coming up on his screen.

"Thank you guys for coming here." Mickey started. "So, I'm sure you've heard of humans making contact with the cartoon world. Have you seen any signs of them in either of your provinces?" Both overseers shook their heads. "Well, that's a relief. I already contacted Lampy and the Moon Boy and they haven't seen anything either. But we all have to keep an eye out. Until we find out exactly who they made contact with, it's gonna be an unpredictable time for all of us. The fact that whomever the humans made contact with is responding so willingly is jeopardizing not just their province but all of cartoonverse." Mickey explained and the other overseers nodded in agreement. "Do you both have any other information you have to share?"

Orange guy thought for a moment, writing something in the air with his finger in the splat writing that said 'is there a way we can follow human broadcasts of some sort?'

Mickey tapped his chin. "That would be pretty difficult… I don't know if we can do that. We'll have to stick to inside sources, fellas. If you need to tell me anything, you can contact me any time and vise versa. We should also rely on each other for security measures."

TV guy flashed a smiley face on his screen and Orange guy morphed into a thumbs up. Mickey dismissed the meeting then, the overseers returning to their provinces. Within each province existed each show or movie belonging to that province, and existed as its own town or city location. There were other cities and towns that were neutral locations, meaning they did not belong to anyone in particular and any cartoon or video game character could go and spend time there. For the time being, Mickey and the other overseers could only wait and see who was causing everyone worry.

* * *

Ralph had grabbed some cherries from Pac Man, heading into GCS where he saw Vanellope talking to some of the other Sugar Rush racers. He headed over to her when he saw she didn't look very pleased about something.

"Hey, kid." He smiled, handing her a cherry. "You look kinda down. Everything okay?"

"No… Taffyta made a huge scene and I'm still upset about it." She sighed. "What did I ever do to make her hate me so much?"

"Taffyta's all about being number one. She's even bullied us on occasion when we get in the way of her spotlight. She's gotta be the best, no matter what." Crumbelina replied.

"Yeah… you would think she'd actually follow her OWN catch phrase." Adorabeezle added.

"What'd she do this time?" Ralph grumbled. He hated when Taffyta got on Vanellope's case, even after the film's events, she still acted bitter towards the racing princess and it got on his nerves.

"Well, she just… she said all this mean stuff… like how what happened to her was my fault and she told everyone to get away from her. She doesn't even want me to talk to her." Vanellope said. "I've tried so hard to include her in things and be her friend, I thought it would help but she's STILL mean to me. I… I don't know what to do to make her like me."

Ralph bent down, scooping Vanellope up. "Kid, sometimes no matter how hard you try, some people just won't like you. It's not your fault or anything, heck, Gene STILL hates my guts… but you just have to remember and appreciate the people who ARE nice to you."

Vanellope smiled a bit at the wrecker. "Yeah, you're right… I wish Kara was here, she would always tell Taffyta off when she would do something mean. That would make her REALLY angry."

Before they could continue their conversation, Turbo ran up to them, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "Guys… something… something's up… with Taffyta."

"I know, Vanellope just told me. I'm not gonna let her get away with her being mean like that." Ralph said.

"No… no, it's not that…" Turbo straightened up. "She… she's not acting right. She's in this place that I followed her to and… I don't know what she's doing. I think she's planning to do something serious!"

Ralph furrowed a brow, he and Vanellope exchanging glances. "You stay here. All you kids just stay in GCS. I'm gonna get Felix and Calhoun and we'll all see what's going on with her. Come on, Turbo." The two characters walked hurriedly, but were stopped when Ralph heard someone call to him.

"Ralph!" Rosie smiled, approaching him. "Are you busy right now? I just finished practice."

"Sorry Rosie, I have to take care of something. Do you know where Felix and Calhoun are?" Ralph replied.

"O- Oh… is everything alright? I think they were at the penthouse." Rosie frowned.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Just stay here and we'll be back soon, okay?"

"Sure…" She said, watching Ralph head towards Fix-it-Felix Jr. "I wonder what's going on…?

* * *

"Good evening, in tonight's report we have some breaking news in our developing story on the UN meeting with the global leaders seeing with their very own eyes characters from this alternate animated world; an unconfirmed rumor has arisen that footage from the meeting will be released sometime within the next 72 hours. As people not just across the country but across the globe await this footage in anticipation we can only wonder who these mysterious characters are, and what they could bring to the table and how they can assist our world's politics and governmental policies and procedures. For now, we can only wait for time to tell what is in store. We will continue to follow up this story as soon as we have updates. Thank you and have a good evening."

"I still think it's stupid." Rafael shook his head. "The only reason why I even consider believing this crap is because I'm sitting next to a cartoon right now."

King Candy sat on the couch with us, munching on some chips. "Why do you humanth watch thith thtuff? It'th tho boring…"

"I usually don't. It IS boring and often depressing as well. But this is actually interesting to me so that's why I've been keeping up with this particular news report." I replied.

"If anything, people would get all excited just to find out it's some political cartoon character of our president preaching who knows what… it would be a big disappointment and everyone will realize they had gotten their hopes up for nothing." Rafael commented.

"Well… we'll just have to wait and see." I yawned. "I'm gonna get ready for bed." I said, heading upstairs.

King Candy hopped off the couch, stretching his back and handing Rafael the bag of chips, now empty. "Be a pal and put that in the rubbish bin, won't you?"

Rafael looked from the empty bag to the bombastic King, not happy in the slightest. "You know, maybe, MAYBE Kara could get away with this. But you? Not happening. Throw it out yourself, your HIGHNESS."

King Candy turned, crossing his arms. "Excuthe me? Who are you to talk to ME like that? You're not doing anything elthe, tho jutht make yourthelf utheful!"

"Look, buddy. You're already on thin ice because you hurt Kara's feelings yesterday. Being all sweet and cuddly and stuff isn't gonna make me forget. I'm onto you, air head." Rafael tossed the empty bag at King Candy's head. "That's for throwing stuff at her yesterday."

King Candy sputtered as the bag bounced in his hands for a bit until he caught it, before he marched angrily up to Rafael. "Now you lithten to me, mithter meanie panths! I can't help that I'm an eccentric guy, it'th in my code! A- And furthermore, I don't appreciate that tone you're using! I ought to make you my thervant and build me a rathe car I can drive around in thith world!"

"Hm… well, it would be hard for you to make me a servant if you didn't have any authority. You may be a king now, but if someone did something, say…" Rafael swiftly took King Candy's crown off his head and put it on his own. "… this? Yeah. You couldn't do jack squat even WITH the crown anyway."

"Wha- yo- HEY! GIVE THAT BACK y- you, you crown thtealer!" King Candy shouted, jumping up to try to get it.

"No. I don't trust you and if you make Kara upset anymore, this crown I have here will be all that's left of you."

"You can't have that crown, it's mine!"

"Why not? What are you doing to help Kara out, huh? At least I help her with chores, you just do nothing all day but gorge yourself with food. This should be your payment for staying here for free."

"I- It wath made cuthtom so it only fith right on MY head!"

"True… after all, it won't stay because I have, oh, what's it called again? Oh yeah, HAIR."

King Candy seethed. "WHY YOU LITTLE-!"

As the two struggled, I heard the commotion from upstairs, rolling my eyes and grabbing something from my room. I came downstairs to see the two arguing and fighting, and I stood at the stairs, a few feet from them when I started banging the gong I have hanging in my bedroom. At the sound, the two stopped, looking at me awkwardly as I raised a brow, putting a hand on my hip. Rafael had been shoving King Candy's head back, who had been flailing his arms and screaming before I got their undivided attention.

"Okay. This is how this is going to go. Rafael, give him his crown back." I said calmly.

"Oh come on, I'm just messing around-" Rafael started.

"GIVE. IT. BACK." I shot a look at him. "NOW."

King Candy smirked as he hopped up, grabbing his crown and placing it on his head. "Finally, thomeone ith making thome thenthe around here!"

"I'm not finished." I said, getting their attention back. "King Candy, you will do your part in helping out. You're not in your kingdom anymore, so you have to follow the rules here. You can't just pretend like everyone is your slave and we spend every waking moment serving you. And Rafael is my best guy friend and as long as he's being reasonable, you respect him. Understand?"

King Candy took a moment to reflect on my words, sighing and letting his arms fall to his sides. "Oh, alright… if you inthitht."

"Good. Now apologize to each other and shake on it. As for me, I'm shaking my behind right to bed." I said, yawning.

"Can I see you shake your behind if I apolo-"

"NO." I said as I headed up the stairs before Rafael could finish.

Rafael chuckled and rolled his eyes before turning to King Candy. "Alright, she has a point. Sorry about earlier, alright? Just don't be a jerk and it'll be fine." He extended his hand.

King Candy cleared his throat. "Fair enough…" He shook Rafael's hand. "I'll try to be more helpful. It'th gonna be hard to get uthed to not living like a king."

"Well, welcome to the real world." Rafael shrugged as he walked over to the stairs, heading into his spare room to get ready for bed also.

* * *

Ralph, Turbo, Calhoun and Felix all arrived at Port Station and headed straight for the search way. They all squeezed inside, a bit uncomfortable because Ralph too up a lot of room even in the larger sized pod. Turbo had to take a few seconds to remember exactly what to type in again, but in a couple minutes, they were zipping away to where Taffyta, apparently, still was.

"Golly, I hope she's alright… something sure rubbed her fur the wrong way earlier…" Felix frowned.

"Well, she's gonna be getting a scolding from me when I see her. I heard how she acted and I don't tolerate anyone disrespecting my husband. She'd better knock this off." Calhoun grimaced.

They arrived a short time later, and they stumbled out a bit from being squished together. "Jeez I can see how some characters feel a bit claustrophobic in those things…" Ralph rubbed his neck. "As well as joint pain…"

"Wait, be quiet for a second." Turbo said, cautiously proceeding forward as he heard whispering sounds coming from up ahead. Upon closer inspection, he saw Taffyta, her back facing them, her head bent as she held the hands of the avatar body. Red, misty pixels hovered around both of them, and Calhoun ushered Felix behind her at the sight.

"What is she doing…?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know… but it doesn't look natural and I'm putting a stop to it." Ralph said.

"W- Wait Ralph!" Turbo piped up.

Taffyta sensed someone approaching, whipping her head around to glare towards the group. "What are you all doing here?! You stay away!"

"Now what in Sam Hill is going on here? You'd better come along with us RIGHT now before you really get punished!" Calhoun said angrily.

Taffyta snorted a bit. "Please. Like you can do anything to me."

Against Calhoun's wishes, Felix cautiously approached Taffyta, thinking perhaps a gentler approach would be more effective. "Taffyta… there's no need to be tense… just tell us what's on your mind, and we'll listen to you. You can tell us, we'll try to help."

"What's on my mind…?" She grinned darkly, and Felix felt a chill run down his spine when she approached him. "Fine. I'll give you what you want. But you won't like it. Neither will they." Before Felix could react, Taffyta grabbed his wrist, and she began to pixelate again, the red pixels scaling across her skin. She and Felix both began to pixelate as he tried to get her to let go, but she only did so when Felix finally shoved her away. Taffyta stumbled backwards, swaying a bit as she passed out. Felix stretched out his muscles, turning to face the others with a dark stare. Turbo saw this, groaning.

"Oh, NOW what? Fix-it, what did she do?!"

Felix didn't respond, turning around to continue what Taffyta had been doing. After a few moments, red pixels sparked across him and the avatar, making him stumble back a bit and pass out as Taffyta had.

"Felix!" Calhoun ran over to him, shaking him. "Felix, what happened? Wake up, answer me!"

A few moments later, he came to, groaning as he held his head. "T- Tammy… Taffyta… something… something happened to my code. It… I didn't feel like myself…"

"It's got to be some kind of hacking mechanism screwing up their codes… but where did Taffyta pick it up from? We have to get them both back and have them checked out."

"Maybe it was when the kids went to that Creepypasta place…" Ralph said.

"Um, you guys…" Turbo said quietly.

"But this seems pretty dangerous! What if one of the other kids end up getting hurt?" Felix frowned.

"Guys…" Turbo repeated.

"I don't see how ANYTHING could survive there, let alone a hacking mech. It had to have been from somewhere else, maybe they went somewhere that posed a risk." Calhoun commented.

"Guys, I think there's only one thing that can survive there." He pointed at the avatar he had been looking at while everyone was distracted. The others glanced over, but when it started developing features, they could not believe what was happening right before their eyes.

"Oh dear…" Felix said, his spine stiffening as he, along with his friends, stood frozen in place, unable to comprehend why this was happening and how to stop it.

* * *

**Oh my! What is the avatar changing into? Will the group be able to get out of this one? And will news footage of the mysterious characters be released? More to come in future chapters! Hang tight, folks! :)**


	7. A Dangerous Arrival

**Good evening, everyone! Things are going to start heating up and trouble has finally found us. What danger lies ahead for our heroes? Read, and get ready to start moving a bit closer to the edge of your seats. As always, please enjoy! :D**

* * *

Mickey cleared his throat as he arrived at HasbroHub to have a meeting with its overseer, a floating, white sphere with a spike up top and a spike at its bottom. In the center was the word written "hub" in purple writing. When Mickey approached, the purple writing morphed into a face with a smile similar to the smile in the Hasbro logo.

"Greetings, Mr. Mouse. Why have you come to see me?"

"Hi, hub. You've been avoiding my calls about the human issue."

"Well, trying to figure out what's going on myself… I've been talking to my citizens and they haven't got any idea who continues to communicate with the humans."

"Well, it was already known that it was in your province that the humans made initial contact with. So I've discussed it with the others, and we're all led to believe that it may still be someone in your province that continues to interact with them. This is putting us all at risk, hub. You've been known to make mistakes in the past, and-"

"Listen here, Mouse!" Hub snapped. "Just because you're the big shot around here doesn't make you high and mighty enough to boss me around! I can handle my own, and I know what I'm doing. Just stay out of my business and if there is a problem I will take care of it."

Mickey stared at hub warily, not trusting him entirely. "I'll take your word, hub. Just… contact me if you have any updates…" He said before taking his leave, not comfortable with how this conversation went.

* * *

Rosie entered port station, looking around for a bit to see if she could see any sign of Ralph or the others. "Hm… I wonder what's taking so long…?" She said to herself. After some more searching, she decided to just occupy herself with something while she waited. She went up to a character, clearing her throat to get their attention. The man turned around, looking down and her and raising a brow.

"… Yes?" He replied.

"Hi, um, I was wondering… I heard about this gallery of fanart, and I wanted to know if you knew where-" Rosie started.

"Go past the shops to the corridor on the left, go through there and make a right. Can't miss it." He replied.

"O- Oh… um, thank you… I didn't catch your name." Rosie replied.

A girl with short black hair ran up to him. "Squall, I want to get ice cream!"

The man sighed. "Leon. It's Leon. No problem." He said before he walked away with the girl.

Rosie blinked, shrugging before taking his directions. Once there, she looked around, raising her brows. All around her were portrait frames which had empty canvases. In the middle of the room was a book on a stand with a quill dipped in ink. A sign was placed next to the stand. Rosie approached it, reading it.

"Write character name in the book to view archived fanart… flip to back of the book for additional options…" Rosie looked over to the book, opening it to find a blank page. She picked up the quill, smiling lightly as she wrote in it. When she placed the quill back, she gasped lightly as the canvases began to make a sound, looking up to see them flipping about like pages of a book as it processed her query. She smiled when she saw many different pictures, art, and drawings, even screenshots, of Ralph. She giggled a bit, looking around at all of them. "There's so many…" She said to herself. Her moment was broken when she heard light giggling from a dark corner of the room. She turned, seeing large, glossy eyes that the light reflected off of even as the character lurked in the shadows. "Hello?" She said quietly.

"Hi there!" It emitted a high pitched giggle.

"What… what's so funny…? You're not making fun of him, are you? He's… he's my boyfriend."

A scuffing noise could be heard as it shifted its weight. "Oh no, I just find it funny that all the pictures aren't of our face!"

Rosie raised a brow. "I don't understand… who are you?"

"Don't worry. There will come a day that no matter what anyone writes in that book there, the only thing that will appear in the pictures are our happy, smiling faces!" It had a high pitched voice as well, almost hard to listen to after a while.

Starting to become uncomfortable, Rosie closed and opened the book again, making all the canvases blank again. "Oh, um… that's nice… well, I should be going… I'll see you around… I guess…" She said, leaving the gallery.

"Bye!" The character called after her. "You'll be seeing plenty of us… real soon…"

Its giggle wasn't as friendly this time.

* * *

Ralph turned to Felix and Turbo. "You two have to go back and warn the others! Tell anyone, everyone!"

"Ralph, I am not leaving my Tam-" Felix started.

"Felix, this thing already messed with your code, listen to Ralph!" Calhoun said as she got her firearm out.

Felix furrowed his brow deeply, nodding. "A- Alright… we'll head back!" He said as he regretfully went with Turbo back to the search way, taking Taffyta with them.

Calhoun, along with Ralph, returned their attention to the avatar, which was nearly finished generating its new identity. She clicked the safety off her firearm, narrowing her eyes. "You just don't know how to stay dead, do you…?"

Ralph stared on in horror. "N- No… it can't be… it's impossible…"

There, standing before them, was someone they had not planned on seeing ever again. "Anything is possible in a world of cartoons, Ralph…" Rayne smirked, her feet touching the ground as she took a step forward.

"You take another step and I'll fire! I don't know how you did this but I'm putting your behind right in GCS prison!" Calhoun growled.

"We'll see about that…" Rayne said, grinning as she whisked her hand at them. Calhoun felt a bit of pressure against her, but nothing significant. Rayne obviously did not expect this more than she, for her grin melted into a bewildered frown as she whisked her hand again. Her eyes widened as she looked down at her hands, before baring her teeth in frustration.

"Well… looks like someone's lost their touch." Calhoun smirked. "You're dead meat now, Rayne. You're defenseless, give it up."

Rayne growled lowly as she narrowed her eyes at them. "Very well, I am no match at this time. But one thing you WILL do, is bring Kara to me. She and I have much to discuss."

"We couldn't even if we wanted to." Ralph replied. "Humans have made contact with somewhere in cartoonverse, and our overseer, Mickey Mouse, saw Kara being human as a threat to all our safety here so he exiled her back to the real world."

Rayne looked at him, raising an intrigued brow. "Is that so…? Hm… I must have been in that pit longer than I thought…"

"Enough talk. We're bringing you right to prison. NOW." Calhoun said.

Rayne chuckled. "Sergeant, you do realize that once my powers are fully restored, that even the prison with the highest security cannot contain me? I will get out, and you will be back to square one, only this time, without Kara to help you."

"Fine." Calhoun tilted her head, lifting her arm and pressing her firearm right against Rayne's forehead. "Then I'll just have to end your wicked life, once and for all."

"I've already died twice in this world and managed to return, doesn't that count for something? Besides, ending my life now may put someone else's life close to you in risk of eternal imprisonment." Rayne said without flinching or blinking.

"I'm not falling for your tricks, Rayne!" Calhoun shouted.

"You have all failed to realize a grave error that Turbo made the moment he entered the real world. This error, that I was able to see, but he and Kara were not able to, has created a great liability that if discovered by your… overseer… will fall on Turbo's shoulders and he will pay the price. So, you will either hear me out… or, you can pull the trigger and the subsequent events will become your regret." Rayne said.

Calhoun gritted her teeth, growling as she put her arm down. "You've got thirty seconds to explain why Turbo would go to prison."

Rayne gave a nod. "You see, he and Kara are not so different. They share one critical similarity that he was not aware of. He too… has a double. When Kara arrived in cartoonverse, I was released. A similar occurrence took place when Turbo first entered the real world. Think about it… who is the one character from your film that you never see…? A character whose existence was a mere parasite to its true identity?"

Calhoun's eyes widened. "King Candy…"

Rayne smirked. "Bingo. Because they were not aware of his existence in the first place… they failed to return him."

"So what reason does that give for me to keep you alive?" Calhoun asked.

"Because which one of you can return to the real world to fetch him without one, risking being seen and two, breaking the new law put in place by your overseer in response to the new threat?" Rayne asked.

"But… but we didn't tell you he banned us from going to the real world… how did you-" Calhoun started.

"I know because I can figure things out easily, sergeant… two plus two equals four regardless of the situation. Now, you have a choice, my dear… you forget that last time I got you out of the hole you all put yourselves in before I was cast into my own. You can kill me, but risk that your vertically challenged friend goes to prison, or you can allow me, the only one here that can retrieve the king and return him here, to assist you and in exchange… spare me my life." Rayne walked in a circle around Calhoun as she said this, smirking. "So what will you do, sergeant? What will your decision be?"

Calhoun tightened her lips, glaring at Rayne. Once again, they found themselves in a tug of war, Rayne having successfully made herself the lesser of two evils. Ralph silently looked between the two of them, before a click was heard, Calhoun putting the safety back on her firearm.

"Fine. You do what you said you would, and you can keep your life. For now. We'll figure out what to do with you later." She replied, angrily stuffing her firearm in its case on her back.

Rayne chuckled. "I can see you are not one who likes to lose, sergeant."

"No." Calhoun took a step forward. "I just don't like when the bad guys have the upper hand." She bumped into Rayne's shoulder as she strode past. "Ralph, let's go."

Ralph sighed, knowing it was a hard but necessary decision to make.

"So…" Rayne said, smirking at him. "Still want to go on that date, Ralph?" She chuckled lowly.

"Not if my life depended on it." Ralph said, glaring at her. "You're awful."

"Things do indeed change… when I first came here, I had a difficult time avoiding your advances and now you are repulsed by me… do you know why, Ralph?"

"Because you've done horrible things and hurt my friends?"

"It is because in the beginning you did not see me for who I truly was. You thought I was beautiful. But my exterior is merely a surface, Ralph, it is the same with all beings! It is what lies under the surface that eventually comes through in the end. Even the most vibrant of colors can hide a great darkness underneath."

Ralph looked away from her as they continued to the search way, silent the rest of the trip.

* * *

King Candy had put a great effort into getting along with Rafael and I, and he and I were baking cookies together while Rafael was watching TV on the couch. I had to admit, I was actually having fun, and King Candy was too. I giggled at his quirky antics, and even when he got flour all over his face, he thanked me when I cleaned him off.

"Do you want the extra batter? It'th the betht part!" He smiled.

"Sure! I love scooping the extra batter out of the bowl." I took the bowl and a spoon, scraping it together and eating it.

As Rafael was flipping through the channels, he came across a breaking news broadcast.

"Good afternoon. On this rainy day, we have finally gotten access to live footage from the UN meeting that took place yesterday. We will be showing, for the first time, the footage people around the world have been waiting anxiously to see."

Rafael leaned forward a bit. "Hey, Kara. You might want to see this."

"Hm?" I replied, coming into the room holding the bowl and taking the spoon out of my mouth. "What is it?"

"I think they're gonna show who was at that UN meeting. Sit down and watch for a second."

"I thought you weren't interested?" I smirked.

"Well I want to at least see what they're gonna show…" Rafael shrugged as we watched.

"… and now, here are some exclusive clips from the meeting." The news reporter said before the live footage was shown.

"I think that they have a lot to offer in helping us put aside our differences, and making peace efforts amongst all conflicting countries. They claim to embrace the values of happiness and friendship, which I think will assist this organization greatly." The president said in the video.

I snorted. "Who is it, the freaking Tellytubbies?" I chuckled. "What the heck is he babbling about…?"

"… I will now give a chance for our guests to speak, and say a few words." The president said before handing over the attention to the guest speakers. "Well, maybe I should hand you the mic… " There was a small swell of laughter from the world leaders, and an 'aww' or two. The president bent down to hand the microphone to whomever was behind the stand.

"Ugh, the stand is blocking the way…" Rafael muttered.

When the mysterious character walked around the stand to reveal itself, both Rafael and I stared at the screen in horror, our eyes widening as we glanced at each other fearfully.

"Oh… oh f-"

"Hi there, everypony! My name is Pinkie Pie! Me and my friends would LOOOOVE to help you with promoting friendship in this world and stop all that bad fighting! As long as you do what WE do, and remember to always smile and be happy, then I promise that everything will be better!"

King Candy walked into the room when he noticed our horrified expressions, looking from the TV screen to us. "Uh… did thomething bad happen?" He asked.

"Yes." Rafael answered, shaking his head in disbelief. "Something bad happened. Something very, VERY, bad."

* * *

**What just happened? This roller coaster is switching into the next gear and we're in for a bumpy ride! What will happen next? More to come in future chapters!**


	8. A Swift Takeover

**Good evening, readers! It's been a few days since I updated, and I've been doing a lot of thinking of exactly how to execute what happens next. Things are going to start really heating up now, so make sure you're hanging on to something. Get ready to start gravitating towards the edge of your seat, and enjoy! :D**

* * *

Back in the arcade, everyone gasped in horror when Calhoun and Ralph returned with a very, very unwelcome guest. Turbo and Felix, who had been trying to comfort a very worried Rosie, could not stop her from running to them.

"W- Wait Rosie, you don't know if-!" Felix started.

"Ralph!" Rosie called out, running to him. "Are you alright, has she done anything to you?"

"No… Rosie, I'm okay, really." Ralph replied, bending down to hug her.

"Then… then why is she…?" Rosie looked from him to Rayne, who sashayed over to her.

"Miss me, dear?" Rayne chuckled. "You've nothing to fear for now. The sergeant and I have formed a temporary pact. She spares my life if I help them with a certain… situation. Now, I must speak to your candy cane colored friend…"

"W- Who? Turbo?" Rosie glanced back at him. "What do you want with him?"

"Yeah…" Turbo approached her. "What DO you want from me, Rayne?"

"You should be asking ME that question." Rayne smirked. "You see, you've got a very loose end roaming around the real world that you never addressed because you were never aware of it in the first place."

Turbo raised a brow, shaking his head. "Do you always speak like this? It's like you talk in riddles…"

"I know, it's so hard for all of you to understand me with your little pea brains…" She laughed, but the others were not amused. She explained the situation with King Candy to Turbo, and he widened his eyes for a moment, before groaning and letting his head fall back for a moment.

"And you neglected to tell me this EARLIER because?" Turbo threw his arms up.

Rayne shrugged. "I've got to save some of my ammunition for the right time… you should know that this is how I play the game by now, Turbo…"

"Unfortunately it's true…" He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Fine. So let's say you DO bring that court jester back here… then what? What happens with you? Do you just expect us all to coexist after you tried to enslave us all?"

Rayne grinned lightly. "Silly, silly Turbo… you don't realize something… I could be your worst nightmare but I could also be your greatest ally if you were to appease me… you see, there is a saying. Better the devil you know. You know what I'm capable of… but there's always something worse. And you never know when my persistence will actually help you."

* * *

I sighed a bit. "Rafael, let's just try to calm down and figure this out-"

"NO! We are packing every winter coat, sweater, blanket, ANYTHING and we are moving to Antarctica! Think about it Kara, no bugs! Wouldn't you like that, no bugs! And hey, guess what else won't be there? DIABETES INDUCING FREAKING PONIES!"

"Look. There's a lot we still don't know, okay? For all we know, it could be-"

"Kara. That footage was from over a day ago. Who knows WHAT could be going on right now." I exhale sharply as he starts throwing stuff in bags.

"Rafael, we are NOT going anywhere! Ugh, you know what? I need a walk or something…"

"What'th the problem? I mean, thoth thingth were a bit obnoxiouth, but what'th the big-"

"The problem is, half the world is already OBSESSED with those damn things and this is only going to make all the 'bronies' go crazy and further embarrass the human race! It's out of control! It can't get ANY worse than this!"

"Okay, okay. But Rafa, freaking out like this isn't going to solve anything!"

"Cookieth are done!" King Candy chirped from the other room.

"Thank goodness… I need a break…" I sighed as I go into the kitchen. "Are they cooled off enough?"

"Yeth, I left them in the oven long enough tho have one!" He smiled.

"Great." I took one, taking a bite and going into the other room to sit on my chair, shaking my head as I watched Rafael throwing his crap in bags. "Rafael, you're only making more work for yourself. We're not going anywhere. I don't even know how to GET anywhere because I am horrible at taking directions!"

"Leave that to me. Just… just get your stuff okay? Please!" Rafael whined.

"Okay. There is nothing, NOTHING, that is going to make me leave this house. This is MY house, and we will get through this, and-" I stopped suddenly, furrowing my brows deeply as I held my stomach.

"Kara? Kara, what is it?" Rafael frowned.

King Candy held a hand to his heart. "Did I make a mithtake on the cookieth? Oh dear, I've never mesthed up a batch of coothieth in my life!"

I covered my mouth, sprinting upstairs. Rafael followed me, wincing as he approached the bathroom. "Kara..? Are you okay…?"

I gasped for air. "Rafa… I'm sick… I think that was a dud pack of cookies… I mean, I checked the label and everything, it was just put on the shelf yesterday… and the package wasn't-" I heaved again. "Open…"

"Damn…" Rafael bit his lip. King Candy hovered by the door, holding a hand to his mouth. "Hey Kara, do you need me to take you to the hospital…?"

"No… just… I think I'm okay now that I got it out…" I coughed a bit, going over to the sink to wash my mouth out.

"We have to bring this back to the food store and complain. If this pack was bad, who knows how many others got screwed up! They'll have to do a recall. Weird though… these cookies are usually pretty good…" Rafa said.

"Yeah… I feel okay now, so let's just go to the store."

"What about me?" King Candy asked.

I smiled. "Sure, you can come along. It'll probably be good for you to get some fresh air."

"Oh boy! Can we get sthome candy at thith sthtore plathe? I'm running a bit low. Thethe pocketh are deep but they do have a bottom!"

The three of us got into the car, driving to the food store. As I was driving, I noticed more people were out and about. Thinking nothing of it, I pulled into the food store, where I blinked upon entering.

"Sale on all dessert items and pastries? Don't you think this is a little suspicious that they're trying to get all this stuff out of the store and you just got sick?" Rafael raised a brow.

"Maybe it's an isolated event. Come on, let's go see if we can find someone to talk to-"

"Hi there! We're having a HUGE sale on all these great desserts! Would you like me to help you pick something out?"

I gave the store clerk a weird look, a bit creeped out by her sudden… overenthusiasm. "Uh… no, no thank you, but I did want to speak to someone about this pack of cookies, you see-"

"Oh, we have plenty more where that came from right over there!" She smiled, a bit too widely I might add.

"Uh… Kara…" Rafael gently tugged my shirt sleeve.

"No, I um… that's the problem. You might want to throw all of those out, or something. I, well, we baked these, and the second I ate one I started vomiting. I think there's something wrong with these, you might want to recall them or something because other people are going to get sick."

The store clerk tilted her head, still smiling as she furrowed a brow a bit. "You… you actually ate the cookies already? And you got sick?"

"Yes, yes, I did. So I just-"

"Well, that was probably just a bad package!" The store clerk took the tube I held and tossed it, handing me another one. "This should cheer you right up!"

"Kara…" Rafael whined.

I shook my head, looking at the store clerk oddly. "What is wrong with you, haven't you been listening to me? This is bad for people! You can't just listen to someone tell you that something made them sick and think that giving them MORE is going to fix the problem! Ugh, I don't have time for this, where is the manag-" I turned, and I noticed that everyone; and I mean, everyone… customers, store clerks, staff… all staring at us, wearing the same stupid grin the clerk I was talking to had. I blinked, dropping the cookie tube I had in my hand. I looked at Rafael, who wore the same horrified expression as me.

"Okay… um… you know what? Just… forget we had this conversation, and I'm just going to go home."

King Candy had been behind us, and when he stepped aside a bit, the store clerk darted her eyes over to him. "He doesn't belong here!" She shouted, STILL smiling. "They've rejected the magic! We must get them!"

"Uh… ith thith how all sthores are like?" King Candy said as people started to slowly move towards us.

"No… no, it's not!" I shouted.

"Uh, this would kind of be a GREAT time to run the hell out of here!" Rafael screamed. I grabbed both their hands, busting out of the exit and running for my life to the car.

* * *

Calhoun led the group to a confidential area of GCS, where only authorized individuals could enter. Surge Protector decided it was just better to give her the green light, wondering why the Mouse in charge didn't just make her the guardian of their city instead of him. They proceeded to a vault door, and she entered a few codes into the pad before spinning the knob open. Inside was the transportation device that the twins used to get back and forth from the real world and cartoonverse, the very one that had been replicated in the real world… well, to some extent. She sighed, regretfully handing it to Rayne.

"You do what we agreed, or we WILL come and hunt you down, legally or not. Clear?" Calhoun warned.

"Crystal." Rayne smirked. "I will retrieve the king and bring him here as soon as I locate him."

The group headed back for the main part of GCS, but something was amiss. When they entered, it was completely empty. So much so, that any sound created an echo.

"Goodness… where did everyone go…?" Felix frowned.

"I don't like this…" Ralph looked around.

"Wait a second… look, over there!" Rosie exclaimed, pointing to the terminals and noticed all the video game characters huddled and hiding.

"What the… what are they all doing…? Is this some kind of game…?" Turbo shook his head.

"Turbo…!" Blitz called out in a loud whisper. "Surge Protector told us to hide, something is coming!"

"Wait, what? Something is coming? Look, we've already got missus impending doom over here, nothing can be worse than that!" Turbo grumbled. Rayne shot Turbo a look, narrowing her eyes for a moment.

"I don't know, but just get your butts in here!" Rebel hissed. They suddenly heard a sound in the distance coming from the inter-trak.

The group looked towards the sound. "A- Alright, you guys… head in there and find a place with the others." Calhoun said.

Rayne exhaled sharply. "You people cannot go for five minutes without having your lives threatened, can you?"

Felix, Turbo, Ralph and Rosie headed to one of the terminal entrances to hide with the others. Once there, Felix turned back to look at Calhoun.

"H- Honey… Tammy dear, don't stand out there…! We don't know what that sound is!" Felix frowned.

"I don't know either, but it's coming closer! I have to see this for myself."

As the sound of wings flapping and high pitched voices came closer, Rayne looked at Calhoun. "You know, sometimes bravery may be mistaken for stupidity. I don't doubt you are a valiant warrior, but even a warrior must choose their battles."

"Look, if there is anyone who thinks they're going to threaten us, I'm going to fight them head on." Calhoun replied.

Neither of them expected what came through the inter-trak entrance in that next moment, the swarm bursting through like water out of a hydrant and flooding GCS. Calhoun didn't even have time to react as they swarmed around her, their incessant giggling drowning out her shocked cries for help.

"Tammy!" Felix cried.

"W- Wait Felix, don't-!" Ralph started.

"They're in the tunnels, find them!" One of them shouted, and they took to invading the place and driving out any inhabitants. In the midst of the chaos, Calhoun found Felix, hugging him close as they watched them destroy the place little by little. She saw a glimpse of darkness among the vibrant colors, and Rayne stood there, holding the device as she herself took to avoiding the swarm's wrath.

"Help us!" Calhoun shouted over all the noise.

"I'm afraid that's not part of the deal, sergeant. I promised I would retrieve the king and not a thing more. I intend to fulfill that request with haste!" Rayne shouted back. As Calhoun tried to get to her, Rayne pressed the button, and she disappeared in an instant. Not only was she gone, but their only hope of escaping this horror was too.

Little did they know that someone else was not counting on Rayne leaving. Rainbowdash had caught sight of Rayne, but was ironically not quick enough to get to her.

"Find her, she's escaped! Look everywhere!" Rainbowdash shouted to the others, before looking at the others, smiling at them. "Aww, don't be afraid… everything will be as it should be soon!"

All the GCS characters huddled in a large group as they, along with every other city in the cartoonverse provinces that already had or would soon be, watched their home be destroyed.

* * *

"Get your seatbelts on, this is going to be a VERY bumpy ride!" I screamed as we practically threw ourselves into my car. I started the ignition- no, it did not sputter like in those cliché horror movies when the car decides to stop working the second a monster is around- and I didn't care whose car got hit as I backed out like a mad woman. By some miracle I didn't hit anything, shifting into drive as a huge crowd of crazed people chased after us. I swerved until I got to a main road I had to turn on.

"What are you waiting for?!" Rafael screamed.

"Rafa, I can't just go into oncoming traffic!" I shouted back.

"Just go, they're coming right behind us!"

"Why ith everyone screaming?!" King Candy exclaimed. "I'm tho confuthed!"

Rafael reached back, turning King Candy's head so he could see out the window. People were about a few yards from my car, and King Candy screamed like a girl just when I found the opportunity to get on the main road, putting the petal to the metal as I sped onto the highway. But things were only just starting. As I pulled onto the road, I glanced to the side, and did a double take as I realized, to my horror, all the drivers around me staring at my car with that overly happy smile. I screamed as the driver in front of me slammed on the breaks, and I had to swerve around them. I was spinning my wheel like crazy trying to avoid crashing into people head on.

"What the fudge ith going on? Are all people from your world like thith?" King Candy shouted.

"NO, but I didn't realize that insanity was contagious!" I screamed. "Just stay buckled and hang onto something!"

"Yeah, of course I'm in the death seat!" Rafael groaned.

"Okay, fine, I'll just pull over and YOU can drive! In the meantime we can get kidnapped or whatever the hell these people plan on doing! We don't even know what's causing this!"

"What do you think, Kara?! What did we see on the news? What did that lady say! She said something about MAGIC, Kara!" Rafael shouted.

I stared at the road wide eyed. "Genius H. Cranium…" I whispered, and I screamed as suddenly a car from oncoming traffic drove straight for us. "CRAP!" I swerved, sighing a bit. "Okay, I think we should be good from here. We can just go to my place, throw our stuff into my car and try to find somewhere safe to go, okay? We need a plan!"

"Oh fudge…" King Candy squeaked.

"What?" I shouted.

He was looking out the rear window, and an eighteen wheeler was fast approaching us. Rafael looked back, his eyes widening.

"Our luck cannot be this bad…" He groaned. "Kara, get this car MOVING!"

"Rafael, it's a year 2000, I'm trying!" I screamed as the speedometer needle was going close to 70. I never drove so fast in my life, and as we went along the curves, I held my breath as we sped through a red light, just missing traffic. The truck swerved, losing control as it crashed head on into a gas station, a huge explosion erupting behind us as I sped towards my neighborhood, where the roads were less busy. I parked in my driveway, and the three of us got out of the car, heading quickly towards the house.

"We get our crap, and we leave here within the hour, if not sooner. Got it?" Rafael said.

"Yes, okay, let's just head in and get everything ready. King Candy, you stay at the window and keep watch. If you see ANYTHING you let us know. We can hide in the woods behind my house until things calm down." I fiddled with my keys as I opened my door, hurriedly heading inside. As soon as I put my things down, I went into the kitchen to get something to drink quickly, when I screamed in surprise.

"W- What, what is it? Kara?!" Rafael shouted, stopping when he stood next to me. "NOW what? Who in the hell is this?"

Rayne took a step forward, sniffing a cookie she held between her index finger and thumb, making a face before dropping it in the garbage. "Well… it seems that this problem is affecting everyone…" She slowly approached me, smirking lightly. "So… are you going to introduce me, or not?"

* * *

**Is everyone still intact? Congratulations, you survived this chapter! Don't celebrate too much though, for there is much more to come! What will happen to our heroes back in cartoonverse, and will our heroes in the real world be able to escape with Rayne stalling them? Find out the answers to these and much more in future chapters! :D Thanks again for reading!**


	9. A Similar Occurrence

**The chapters may start to get a bit longer because a lot is gonna be happening now. The action will be increasing exponentially as well as the number of characters, and it is taking me a lot of brain power to write this out. But I will do what I can to get what's in my head into writing and make it entertaining. Thanks to those who have been reading, and I hope you're enjoying! :D**

* * *

"How can something so adorable cause THIS much damage?" Rosie screamed as she clung to Ralph.

"I don't know, but we all have to get out of here, quickly!" He shouted back, trying to duck from the swarm of pegusi that proceeded to splatter rainbow colored ink everywhere and cause a huge lightning storm to destroy everything in its path, as well as blow around the lighter weighted characters.

Just then, the sound of engines roaring over the crashing lightning was heard, as all the racers started grabbing characters to escape. The larger characters, like Bowzer, scooped up characters as he blasted his way through the swarm. Even taking down as many pegusi as he did, it was barely a drop in the bucket.

"Ralph!" Vanellope shouted as she screeched to a stop. "They've completely demolished my castle! I've got all the racers getting as many people as we can so we can get the heck out of here! We've got to hurry!"

"O- Okay! Can you take Rosie with you? I've got to make sure everyone from the penthouse got out!"

"Sure! Hop in!" She said, and Rosie glanced back worriedly at Ralph as they sped off through the Mickey Mouse shaped door; they had only been through there the one time they went to his headquarters, so they had little knowledge of the world that existed outside their own.

Meanwhile, Ralph went to Fix-it-Felix Jr., and upon arriving, he saw pegusi flying all around, tearing at things and throwing things around as a large thunderstorm inside sent lightning bolts cascading towards the penthouse, blasting off huge chunks. He grunted as he burst inside, looking around frantically. "Is anyone here?!"

"Ralph, help, I'm stuck!" Mary cried, stuck under part of a wall.

Ralph ran over to her quickly, ducking as more of the building crumbled around him. "Mary, is anyone else here?"

"No, I made sure everyone got out and I was heading down when I got trapped!"

Ralph cast aside the chunk of wall like it was nothing, scooping her up and breaking his way back out of the building. Back in GCS, pretty much everyone was out, taking a moment to glance back in shock of what his home had been reduced to. He headed through the door, not daring to look back as he went to catch up with the others.

* * *

Mickey hugged a frightened and confused Minnie tightly. "Minnie, you have to help all of our citizens. I will locate some of the other overseers but you must make sure that as many of our citizens get out as possible. The rest will meet me at a later time."

"But Mickey, where can they all go?" She squeaked.

"If you can get them to Bluthtown that will be good enough. We can figure out what to do once we're there. I already called Dirk and he is aware of the current crisis. He said because his area is on the outskirts of Cancelville, it's probably less of a target." Mickey replied.

"Alright Mickey, I'll try my hardest. Please, please be careful." Minnie said as she hugged Mickey once more.

Mickey turned to leave, hurriedly moving to meet up with some of the other overseers. Once he united with Orange guy and TV guy, he headed straight to Hasbrohub, wielding something he brought from his office just for the occasion.

A keyblade.

Once in the province, Mickey and the other overseers noticed the province was rather… empty.

Mickey turned back to them. "Be careful, you guys. Have you started evacuation proceedings? I already called Dirk and he's willing to allow any toons to come to Bluthtown." Both overseers nodded wordlessly, and Mickey continued on with them to see Hub. They found his headquarters, storming up the stairs until they burst into his office. TV Guy flashed an angry face on his screen and Orange Guy put his hands on his hips, before shaking a fist at him. "Hub, you've got a lot of explaining to do!" Mickey cried. "You've put all of our citizens in terrible danger! They've been traumatized and driven out of their homes and your ponies have destroyed everything! You better give us a good reason why you-"

"I couldn't stop them." Hub muttered.

Mickey narrowed his eyes, approaching him and holding out his keyblade. "I'm not kidding, Hub. You'd better start telling me the truth about what's going on!"

Hub slowly turned, appearing downtrodden. "Look… I… I was the one that encouraged them to keep speaking to the humans. See, the whole reason why I give the ponies so much support is because they're the ones that have been keeping my province afloat. I… because of their success, I just… I gave them whatever they asked for. When they wanted to have more of them made, I said yes. When they said they wanted to try to coexist with humans…" He sighed. "I said yes."

"Are you crazy? Toons cannot coexist with humans! There has to be a boundary, Hub, and you've crossed it!" Mickey frowned. "So why are they doing this? Did you tell them to destroy everything?"

"No Mickey, I swear, I didn't authorize that. When they made contact with the humans, I… they told me they were going to fulfill their true purpose. When I asked what they meant, they told me to allow them to have full access to whatever supplies we had. They've turned this entire province into a factory Mickey, and they've made my other citizens get on the bandwagon with them! I never thought I could lose control, I just wanted to stay afloat! Compared to you guys, I thought the ponies were the only way I'd stand a chance!"

"So you're saying… that the ponies are acting entirely on their own?" Mickey lowered his keyblade a bit.

"Yes… I don't know how to stop them. I… I'm sorry. I allowed this to happen. They're going to take everything, Mickey. They're going to take everything until there is nothing left but them."

Mickey looked back at the overseers with an unsure expression before turning back to Hub. "If you help us get them under control, and fix all the damage caused… you will be forgiven. But for now, you're going to stay with us until we have a plan of how to combat this."

* * *

I stood there in shock, shaking my head. "How… how did you…?"

Rayne raised a brow. "How did I come back? Well, I could stand her and explain all that, but you'd lose precious time as about… probably at least half the human race comes hunting for you."

I ran a hand through my hair, sighing. "Okay, okay, just… help me pack my crap and we'll talk about it later." I turned around, heading upstairs.

Rafael blinked a bit, clearing his throat. "So… are you some kind of Alma Wade ripoff?"

Rayne chuckled, smirking a bit. "You know… at least you're not a complete idiot… yet." She leaned a bit closer. "And Alma Wade is a Church mouse compared to me." She said as she took a step forward, but found that a certain king was blocking her way. "Ah… you're the one I came here for."

None of them had realized it, but King Candy stared blankly at Rayne, a lovesick smile in his features.

Rafael cringed. "Oh man, don't tell me HE'S turning into one of those crazy people now?"

Rayne knelt down, making a face. "They sent me here to get this? Unbelievable. Hey. Come on, you twerp, say something!"

King Candy giggled lightly, and he started to float around. "You're beauuuutiful."

Rayne looked at him oddly. As Rafael looked between the two of them, he started to burst out laughing, holding his side. "This is… if we weren't in the situation we were in, I-…" He cracked up as he headed upstairs to get his things. "I'll leave you two love birds alone for some private time!"

Rayne looked back over at King Candy floating around her, rolling her eyes in disgust. "I don't have time for this nonsense…" Rayne swatted him away before heading upstairs to help me shove things in my bags and carry them out to the car, figuring that was more tolerable than dealing with King Candy downstairs. Sometime later, we were all set and Rayne shoved Rafa out of the way to sit in the front passenger seat. "I am NOT sitting back there with him."

"And I am not sitting up here with YOU." I glared at Rayne. "Rafael, sit."

Rayne tugged at her hair as Rafael stuck his tongue out at her, and she was forced to sit in the back seat. King Candy grinned, giggling lightly as she sat next to him. "You touch me even for a second, and I will break your hand off. Understand?"

King Candy covered his mouth lightly as he giggled. "My, you sure are feithty!" He rested his chin on his hands. "Rayne… thuch a beautiful name, too. Where did you come from?"

Rayne shot him a look. "Listen, you oversized egg. We are NOT conversing and you will NOT attempt to engage me in conversation. Whatever sick crush you have on me will end NOW."

"So where are we going, anyway?" Rafael asked.

"We should at least try to get off the island. I have an aunt who lives upstate, maybe she can let us stay there until things cool down. I wrote her address so just be my navigator, okay?" I replied.

"How long will it take to get there?" He asked.

"A few hours at least." I said.

As we drove, King Candy was having a Felix moment as he sighed contently, little hearts in his eyes as he stared at Rayne. She did everything to try to avoid him, gritting her teeth.

"I swear, when I get my powers back…" She muttered, realizing then that this was going to be a very, VERY long trip.

* * *

Ralph dragged his feet as they left Disneyverse headquarters, all of the Disney citizens trudging down the road leading out of the province. Never had Ralph been outside his province, he barely left his own town before starting to go to and from the inter-trak, and had only been to headquarters for the first time just days before. Now, he sighed lightly as he walked alongside Felix and Calhoun. They, along with all of the other characters around them, many he had never seen before, all looked defeated. Apparently, many other homes had been taken as well as his own.

"Hey…" Felix smiled sadly at Ralph. "We'll be okay, brother. We've all got our lives and that's the most important thing. We're all together."

Ralph nodded. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"We're going to a place called Bluthtown." Calhoun answered for him. "I heard that toons live there that are before our time. It's weird seeing all these toons in two dimensional… I had only heard of it… but it's interesting to see with my own eyes. Too bad I had to see under these circumstances." She sighed a bit as they continued on.

Taffyta drove silently, her brows furrowed. Vanellope drove along side of her, glancing over at her.

"Hey…" Vanellope said quietly. "Are you okay?"

Taffyta nodded a bit. "I'll be fine." She replied. "Look… I know it's my fault that Rayne is back. She… she probably caused all of this. I'm sorry. I should have listened to you. I didn't want this."

Vanellope was a bit shocked by her apology; Taffyta was known for her pride and this was not a side she often saw in the platinum blonde racer. "I… I know you didn't mean anything bad by it, Taffyta… but I don't think Rayne caused this, this time. She high tailed out of GCS when we were invaded, according to Ralph."

Taffyta sighed a bit. "Do you think this is the end for us?" She asked, looking at Vanellope sadly.

"Of course not! We can figure this out, together."

"We all watched Sugar Rush crumble faster than cookies in milk, Vanellope! Everything is gone! How can we fight these… these things, if we don't even have anywhere to go?"

Vanellope became determined then. "Taffyta, what's the one thing we've learned from everything we've been through? Bad guys never win. We'll get through this somehow, I know it. I don't know a lot of these toons but they're in the same kart as us right now and we're gonna get our home back. We have to stick together, okay?"

Taffyta smiled lightly, nodding. "Yeah… thanks… Vanellope."

Along the way, they joined with other characters from different provinces, and the group from Wreck-it-Ralph stared in awe as hundreds, if not thousands, of characters from all over cartoonverse gathered together. Even other video game characters and all the residents from Animetopolis collected in one huge group as they traveled towards Bluthtown to figure out where their next plan of action was.

"Woah…" He breathed.

"Golly… I never realized there were so… many…" Felix's eyes widened, huddling a bit closer to Calhoun who put a protective arm around him.

As they all proceeded forth, they could not believe the different styles and characters that walked with them, and they even cringed as characters from the land of Creepypasta, as well as other characters deemed too hostile to be amongst the general population, were carted in huge cages.

Suddenly, they all felt so small. Has they been this ignorant to the world outside?

* * *

I breathed a sigh of relief as we finally made it past Manhattan, which was crawling with crazed, happy people. We all had to resort to grinning widely at times just to get under the radar, but inside we feared for our lives as we saw just how widespread this epidemic was becoming. The sooner we got somewhere to plan our next move, the better off we'd be.

"Okay… take this exit… no, that one there! Good." Rafael sighed as he gave me directions tiredly.

"I'm sorry, you have to be VERY specific, I'm really bad at directions…" I bit my lip. "Okay, just take this where?"

"We've got a while so just stay on this road." Rafael plopped the papers in his lap, leaning back in his seat.

Rayne's eye was twitching as she grit her teeth, at her wits end with King Candy sighing lovingly every five minutes. "If you don't stop STARING at me, right now, I am going to strangle you." She growled.

"But you're so enchanting, I couldn't bear to look away. If I ever get a chance, I will make you the best kart ever! I'll call it black licorice, and I'll make it sleek and shiny, and we can race together!"

"Stop. Bloody. TALKING." She snapped.

"Both of you stop bickering!" I shouted from the front seat. "Or I'm stranding you both!"

Rayne grumbled, clearing her throat. "So… you inquired earlier about how I returned? Would you care to listen now?"

"Sure, why not? Not like I'm leaving this car anytime soon…" I replied.

"You see, when I fell into that pit, I was scorched, so much so that I could not hope to use my body again. I had to have a new one created… but I was in no condition to do it on my own. I laid there for weeks, waiting for someone to come close enough as I continued to waste away… and finally, someone did."

"Who?" I asked.

"A little brat named Taffyta." She smirked.

I gasped, glancing back at her for a moment before looking at the road. I was not a good multitasker, especially in the car, so I had to almost always keep focus on the road. "What did you do to her? How did she get there?"

"She has two feet, you know…" Rayne rolled her eyes. "So when she clumsily fell into the pit where I was, I used whatever strength I had left to crawl over to her, and my essence left the little of what remained of my body and fused with her code. She did most of the work creating a new avatar and transferring me to it, but because I was discovered, I was fused with Felix for a short time as well. The avatar was complete, and I had returned. But I am still in a weak state, and my powers will take some time to return."

I shook my head. "Jeez, Rayne…" I breathed. "So, how did you convince them to- wait… you didn't do anything to my friends, did you?" I freaked.

"Quite the contrary. Your friends are in danger… but they are threatened by the very same thing threatening this world… as I last recalled, when I came here, the entire place where they lived was being destroyed." Rayne said.

I gasped, slamming on the brakes at this. Luckily no one was really around, and I turned to look at her, wide eyed. "WHAT?"

"Holy crap, Kara, you nearly sent us all through the wind shield!" Rafael shouted.

"Tell me what happened to them Rayne. NOW."

"I didn't see what happened to them. I left before I saw them make some kind of escape."

I turned back around, gripping the steering wheel as I shook my head, breathing a bit deeply. Even King Candy snapped out of being lovesick a bit, looking from Rayne to me. I put the car in park, slowly getting out and walking a bit down the road.

"Kara, wha- hey!" Rafael called after me. He got out, and King candy furrowed a brow.

"Shouldn't we help her?" King Candy asked.

Rayne smirked when she saw how distraught I was. "Not in the slightest."

"Kara!" Rafael caught up to me. "What are you doing, we can't just stand around out here, we have to keep moving!" When I didn't reply, just walking slowly in shock, he came around the front and started shaking me. "Kara, we have to go!"

"WHY?!" I screamed, inhaling deeply as I began to cry. "They're all gone. It's done. I… I abandoned them. I let this happen. If I had been there… I could have stopped them."

Rafael placed his hands on my shoulders. "Listen to me. Nothing says they didn't make it out. She said she didn't SEE them escape, it doesn't mean they didn't! Besides, if she's as bad as you said she is… she could be lying to you."

I shook my head. "No… she wouldn't lie about that. It makes sense. But… you're right. There's a chance they could have gotten out… but we have to hurry. If Rayne was able to get here… she could get us back to cartoonverse. We have to get to my aunt's and make a plan." I sigh, smiling a bit. "Thanks, Rafa." I hugged him.

Rafael hugged me back. "I'm always telling you to relax…"

* * *

The huge group of toons finally arrived at Bluthtown, and Mickey soon arrived with Orange guy, TV Guy and Hub, but Goku, who was the overseer of Animetopolis, joined them as well, and was glaring daggers at Hub.

"Thanks again for this, Dirk. We'll need to pass through your province to get to Cancelville, but we need to plan something out first. Your province is gonna be pretty overpopulated for the time being." Mickey frowned.

"No problem, Mickey! From one hero to another, we need to help each other in times of peril!" Dirk smiled, shaking Mickey's hand.

"We've done all we can to make accommodations! It's not going to be as convenient as it should be, but we've done our best!" Princess Daphne, who was Dirk's girlfriend, chirped.

Ralph, along with the others, slowly entered into the town, looking all around at the characters so unfamiliar to them.

"Hey, Ralph…? Do you think any of these other toons are dangerous…? They look so weird…" Vanellope looked around.

"These toons have been around long before our time, Vanellope. But we don't know them, so just stick by us and keep your guard up." Calhoun replied.

Vanellope looked around, gulping a bit as a very sinister looking dog approached her, blowing cigarette smoke in her face.

"Evening, miss… would you care to take a short visit to my… humble establishment?"

"Uh… who are you?" Vanellope tilted her head.

"The name's Carface, doll! You reminded me of a little tyke I used to be friends with once, and it warms me up. I-"

"Carface!" A German Shepherd trotted up to him, growling. "Leave the incoming toons alone. They've been through enough not to be harassed by you!" He turned to Vanellope. "Don't listen to him. He's trouble with a capital T."

Ralph drew Vanellope a bit closer, continuing along their way. When they reached the heart of the province, Mickey stood in the center with the other overseers, holding a wireless microphone. He tapped it a couple times, clearing his throat.

"Alright everyone, listen up for a moment now." Mickey inhaled deeply. "I know you're all probably confused, and scared… we all are too. We don't know exactly why this has happened… but we all need to come together now to try to find a way to repair the damage that has been done. For now, our only option is to wait out this crisis in Cancelville."

The toons gasped.

"Cancelville?" A toon cried. "But it's so desolate there! We'll all perish!"

"I know it sounds bad, but we've got no other option!" Mickey frowned. "We have to keep everyone safe. Until we can figure out what's going on… we… we can't go back home."

Felix looked up at Calhoun, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Rosie huddled closer to Ralph, glad at least she had him around despite what was happening.

"Hey… are you going to be alright, Turbo?" Blitz asked, the three sticking close together through this whole ordeal.

"We need Kara here…" He said quietly. "She'd know what to do. She's probably back in the real world all alone… she probably has no idea what's going on."

Mickey was in the middle of speaking when Chip and Dale came up to him. In this desperate time, he sent the two to the real world, having asked the Twins' for their other device to use. When they whispered something to Mickey, he looked at them in shock, nodding a bit as his eyes widened.

"Folks… I'm going to be honest with you. For the first time, I have allowed something I never allowed before. I asked Chip and Dale here, to go to the real world to report any happenings there that may give us an idea of how they may be affected as well. We have no way of finding out otherwise, but I had no choice but to make an exception to this very important rule one time." He cleared his throat. "It seems… that the humans have been brainwashed… and will be hostile to anyone and anything that does not bend to the will of the ponies." Gasps and cries of shock rippled through the toons, and Turbo slowly looked up, his eyes wide with horror. "Without the human race to give us viewing power here… we will all soon become permanent residents of Cancelville… our homes will deteriorate and we will only have there to call home. From what I've been told… it seems that no one is immune from this crisis. This will make things far harder for us here."

Turbo didn't hear anymore. Everything was muffled as he fell to his knees, all hope lost.

"Kara… is… is gone…" His vision blurred, passing out from the shock.

* * *

**This chapter was a bit depressing and a bit slow, but I promise that things will pick back up. It can't always be action action action, even though it's pretty awesome. The one good thing about this chapter is that through the worst of times, people tend to come together and allow their hearts to open a bit more than normal. Hope you liked, and please review! And if you like the character references, I've barely started! :D**


	10. A Time to Reflect

**Greetings, everyone! I had a busy work week this week, but I'm off for the next few days so I will be back to updating this fic. Not really too much action in this chapter, but some important plot and character progression happening here nonetheless. Please enjoy and review, and relax... for now. :D**

* * *

We finally reached Westchester County upstate, and we were all exhausted from the drive, among other things. It had taken about five hours to get there, and now I just had to navigate through the place and find my aunt's house. About a half an hour later, I sighed with relief when I finally pulled into the driveway. Rafael's brows raised.

"Wow… nice place." He said.

"Yeah… my aunt has a lot of property." I said as I got out. "I'm gonna go talk to her. It's been a while so it'll take a few minutes." I got up, going up the stairs and knocking at the door. It took about five minutes for her to answer because one, she's in her 90s, and two, because she's as deaf as a doornail.

"Hello?" She said as she opened the door.

"Hey, aunt Vera!" I said, quite loudly. "How are you? Sorry I came unannounced!"

"Oh, Kara, what a surprise! How did you get all the way up here?" She asked.

"Some friends and I are on a road trip, so-"

"A what?" She interrupted.

"A ROAD TRIP!" I shouted, not in a mean way, but I still managed to maintain a pleasant expression. "Do you think we could stay here for a few days?"

"Oh, sure! I don't really have any rooms prepared though…"

"That's okay, we'll handle it! Thanks aunt Vera!" I gave her a hug before going back down to the car.

"Jeez, she really must be deaf, I could hear you from China…" Rafael chuckled.

"Okay, so I don't feel like explaining you two…" I pointed to Rayne and King Candy. "Because my aunt will think she's gone senile. So you two have to stay out of her sight."

Rayne shrugged. "No problem, I can just- oh, wait… damn it. I still don't have my powers…" She hissed.

"Hm…" King Candy tapped his chin. "How about you and Rafael go into the houth, and open a window, and I can jutht float mythelf and Rayne in, hoo hoo!" He chirped.

Rayne shot him a look. "You are NOT touching me."

I shrugged. "Fine. Stay in a freezing cold car all night. It's your choice." I said as Rafael and I turned to bring in our stuff.

Rayne stood there, dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open a bit when she looked from us to King Candy. He glanced up at her, twisting his bow tie as he grinned, wiggling his brows. She looked away from him angrily, gritting her teeth.

Rafael went into one of the bedrooms upstairs, putting all of our crap in there before I went back down to the others by the car.

"Okay. Rafa and I brought all the stuff inside, so just go around back to the…" I had to think for a moment. "… the window all the way to the left. I told Rafael to open it. Oh, and watch out for bears. She sometimes gets them in her yard because the forest is right back there." I headed back inside.

"Well, are you ready, my dear? I'll jutht gently lift you like an angel in the-"

"Shut up and let's go." Rayne said as she headed around to the back of the house, standing there with her arms crossed as she sighed with annoyance. King Candy blinked a bit before joining her, giggling in anticipation as he floated up to gently grasp under her arms. "I am warning you now." Rayne spoke in a low tone. "You try ANYTHING, and I will crack open your skull like an egg and your yolk of a brain will come oozing into my hand, where I will crush it. Understand?"

King Candy raised his brows, tugging on his collar as he chuckled nervously. "Y- Yeth, sure…" He cleared his throat as he gently lifted her up, floating for what seemed like a million years. "Tho, um… why-"

"Don't talk to me." Rayne cut him off.

King Candy frowned. "What did I ever do wrong? I didn't mean for you to hate me tho much…"

"Because I don't LOVE. I don't care what others feel. I live to see the misery of others."

"Tho… why help uth, then? Why not jutht dethtroy us now?" He asked.

"Because my powers need time to return. I used whatever I had to hang onto whatever thread of life I had left while I rotted in that pit!" Rayne replied.

"Well…" King Candy started. "Why do you hate everyone tho much?"

Rayne sighed, rolling her eyes. "Because life is very unforgiving. Love weakens a person. It opens a person up to be burned. Those who are smart enough to use love as a front to get what they want are the ones who put all those who truly believe in it to shame. People who believe in love believe in nothing- no, less than nothing. It's a lie. Only those who have no heart, no remorse, not a care of who gets hurt and thrives off of the agony of others are true survivors." She glanced up at him. "Satisfied?"

King Candy frowned. "I wanted to love… but the movie I came from, I had to be what thomeone elthe wanted me to be. I had no control. I wath the lie. And… even when the movie ended, I thtill couldn't be me. Thometimeth I really don't know WHO I am… jutht what I wath made out to be. It'th… I jutht wish I had thomeone who could help me figure out what I wath really meant for."

Rayne narrowed her eyes. "Well, I'm not a therapist. If you have problems, figure them out yourself."

They finally reached the window, and King Candy backed himself in, sitting Rayne on the window sill as he situated himself inside before holding his hand out to her. Rayne swatted his hand away.

"Rayne, he's just trying to help-"

"He had his hands on me for long enough, THANK YOU." She snapped, before trying to turn herself around so she could slip inside. However, she lost her balance when the window sill, which was quite old, broke on one side, and she gasped as she slipped, one of her hands managing to grip onto the broken window sill as she dangled, struggling to pull herself up.

"Oh my-! Oh thank codes my aunt is deaf!" I rushed over to get to her, but King Candy was there, trying to grab her other hand.

"Hey, BACK OFF!" She screamed angrily, but then furrowed her brows as she looked behind her. Her eyes widened as a flashback of dangling over the acid pit, the remains of Dr. Thorne clinging to her legs, appeared, and the memory of the bubbling, burning chemical stew made her swallow thickly as she scrambled to pull herself up, but she just kept slipping.

"Pleathe, let me help you, you'll fall!" King Candy cried.

"I don't NEED your help! What do you take me for, a weakling?! I CAN do it!" She shouted, but her eyes widened in panic as more of the window sill broke off, and her hand slipped. Before she could fall to the ground below, King Candy grabbed her hand with both of his, lifting her up and helping her inside.

"Jeez, Rayne!" I sighed, and Rafael shook his head in disbelief at the whole scene.

"Wow. You are REALLY stubborn." He said to her.

Rayne got to her feet, swatting King Candy away from her as she dusted herself off. "You're all ridiculous…" She shook her head, storming over to the other room where she began to set up her things.

"Rayne… I… I wanted to lithten to you, but you fell… I couldn't jutht let you-"

"Listen to me now, then, VERY closely." Rayne jabbed a finger at his chest. "You ever, humiliate me like that again and I'll break your spine in half!"

"B- But Rayne, I didn't mean-… I was jutht helping you-"

"I don't NEED your help. I don't need ANYONE ELSE'S help. When I get my powers back, I will leave you all to your ill fates like the rest of your animated friends and the disgusting human race!" She growled, going into the room and slamming the door.

I approached King Candy, who stood there sadly. "King Candy… you have to understand something about her. She… she trusts no one. She thinks that if she actually comes to care for someone it will be used against her… or that… the one she cares for will hurt her. Just give her some space."

King Candy nodded sadly as he turned to bunk in the room with Rafael and I. He glanced back once more at the door behind him, before going into the other room and gently closing the door behind him.

* * *

"Hey… Turbo, come on bud…" Ralph said, furrowing his brow as the group stood around a passed out Turbo.

"Wake up, Turbutt!" Vanellope pouted.

"'Ey, 'ey, give him some space, will you?" Rebel said to Vanellope before turning back to Turbo. "I think he's coming to."

Turbo groaned, his eyes fluttering open as his hands reached up to rub them, taking a few moments for his vision to adjust before he sat up slowly, rubbing his head.

"What… what happened?" He asked groggily.

"You fainted…" Rosie frowned. "Mickey was making his announcement and then you just…"

Turbo took a moment to interpret her words. He began to think of all that happened, and what Mickey had said.

_"From what I've been told… it seems that no one is immune from this crisis."_

"She's gone…" Turbo said, breathing shakily.

"Who's gone…?" Blitz tilted his head.

"Who…? WHO?!" Turbo snapped, breathing unevenly as he clutched his helmet.

_"Whatever happens… we'll always get through it together, right?"_

Turbo began to cry bitterly, remembering I had said that to him when we had managed to survive the horrors of Dr. Thorne's ill intentions.

"Turbo, now's not the time to get angry at everyone. We're just looking out for yo-" Calhoun started.

"Didn't you hear what that rat said?!" Turbo cried. "All of the humans have been… been hacked! They're gone! They're not who they're supposed to be anymore! KARA is out there! He said no one was immune to it. If that's true, then they got to her! She could have been saved if he would have let her just stay here! If he would have just let her be where she belonged, with us, with ME, she could have escaped!" He screamed, gritting his teeth. "I'll get him. I'll get him back for this. I will never, EVER, forgive him. This is HIS fault."

"Turbo…" Vanellope whined lightly. "Stop talking like that… Mickey is trying to help us…"

"Help?!" Turbo snapped at her. "If Kara were here, maybe we wouldn't BE in this situation. She could have stopped all of this. Whatever happens, whoever gets hurt now in cartoonverse, it's on him." He wiped his face, sniffling angry tears. "And I hate myself most of all… I was a coward. I could have tried to get her back, or go with her… I abandoned her. I let her go."

"Turbo…" Felix placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You can't give up hope. There's still a chance that this can be fixed. Maybe if we all figure this out together, we can save cartoonverse, and save Kara. But you can't shut us out, brother. We have to stick together. Kara's still with us, in our codes. She wouldn't want us to fight like this."

Turbo looked up at Felix slowly, blinking a bit.

_"Look at all the friends you've made. Look at the life you've built for yourself, the relationships you've mended."_

My words from before I left cartoonverse echoed in Turbo's mind, and he slowly looked around at the group encircled around him. He hung his head, doing something that no one expected the proud, short-tempered racer to do.

He hugged Felix.

Felix blinked in surprise, before smiling lightly, hugging him back. One by one, the others joined them in a group hug, Ralph's arms large enough to hug around them all.

_"That all stays with you even when I can't."_

Turbo smiled lightly through his sadness. "Thanks, you guys." He said quietly.

* * *

King Candy and I slept on either side of Rafael in the queen sized bed, exhausted from the day's events. The man of royalty was curled up with a pillow on his side, lightly sucking on his thumb as he slept. It was the middle of the night, and the moonlight shone through the blinds of the window, chopping the light into stripes across the room. All was peaceful and serene until the bedroom door creaked as it was opened. A pair of red eyes glowed, framed by darkness as Rayne stepped into the room. She seemed to glide along the floor, silent as the night itself as she went around to where King Candy was, standing over him. Her standing in the way of the window cast her dark shadow over us, the light illuminating the back of her but further darkening her front. She narrowed her eyes as she stared at his slumbering form, taking something into her hands and gripping it firmly.

The device.

'I don't know how much longer it will take for my powers to be fully restored…' She thought to herself, glancing at Rafael and I. 'But I made a deal, and I intend to fulfill it… if there is anyone left to fulfill it for. Then… I can simply sit back and watch the two worlds slowly wither and fade away. Clear the board so it is mine for the taking.'

She reached over, making a face as she took one of King Candy's hands into hers so they would return to cartoonverse together. As her thumb hovered over the device button, about to press it, she gasped lightly as King Candy smiled in his sleep, sighing contently as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She instinctively reared her other hand with the device back to break the unwanted contact, but fearing she would break the device as well, she grit her teeth, shaking her head as she pressed the button.

* * *

Turbo decided he needed to take some time to clear his head and warm up his muscles a bit, so he told the others he was going to go for a short walk, thinking it would do him some good. As he did so, he looked around at all the different characters, finding some odd, interesting, or downright creepy. The residents of Bluthtown were helping the visiting characters in any way they could. Turbo suddenly felt something light on his shoulders, raising a brow as he looked to see a small fairy had landed there.

"Uh… do you mind?" Turbo asked.

"Oh, forgive me! I noticed you seemed a bit lost, so I was wondering if I could help!"

"No, not lost. Just… I needed a breather, is all." Turbo replied. "Thanks."

"What's your name? I am Thumbelina."

"Weird name… I'm Turbo. You uh… from around here?"

"Yes, I live here with Cornelius, Prince of the Fairies."

"That's nice. Look, I… I'm not feeling too great, I just want to walk around."

"Oh dear… might you tell me what's wrong? I'm sure I can try to help you…"

Turbo sighed. "Well, other than the fact that I'm stranded here…" He hung his head. "There's… someone I really care about. We got separated because she's human and she had to go back to the real world. But now… something went wrong. All of the humans' codes got hacked, and they'll never be the same. I'll never be able to be with her again."

Thumbelina tilted her head in thought. "Well, I'm not quite sure what a code or a hacked is, but I remember when I thought I lost Cornelius… I was so sure that he was dead, and because I lost the one person I loved the most, I almost resorted to marrying a mole thinking I had no other option!" She giggled a bit of how silly she had been then. "But my dear friend, Jacques, told me to have faith and he was so sure he was alive. I didn't believe him, but then Cornelius just appeared before me! It was truly a miracle." She smiled up at Turbo. "If I could be reunited with him and have my very own wings as I always dreamed of, I'm sure you'll find your loved one too. She's out there somewhere, and she may be looking for you too."

There was something about the small creature that gave Turbo a warm, optimistic feeling as he smiled lightly. "Thanks, Thuh-… Tuh… um… what's your name again?"

"Thumbelina." She giggled. "Because I'm no taller than a thumb!"

"Oh, yeah. Right." He smirked a bit at her. They continued to talk for a bit, until he thought he heard someone call out his name. He furrowed a brow, looking around.

"Is something the matter?" Thumbelina floated off his shoulder.

"I… I hear someone… it sounds…" His eyes widened, moving a bit faster as he made his way towards the source of the voice through all of the characters and streets. It became a blur as the voice rang through his head, and he even laughed a bit as he ran. "Maybe she was right… maybe Kara made it here… it could be her… it HAS to be her…" He turned a corner, looking around and thought he saw movement.

"Goodness, you run so fast!" Thumbelina said as she caught up with him.

"Fast is my middle name! But I found her! You were right, she's here!" He strode forward quickly, but he stopped dead in his tracks when the individual stepped from the side of the building, turning to face Turbo. He furrowed a brow, looking all around her as his feet remained planted firmly to the ground. "You… no, it can't be you! And… how… you found…"

Rayne lifted her head a bit, smirking lightly at him. "I'm sorry… not expecting me?" She said as she took a step forward. "And yes, I found your… colleague." She held her arms out straight in front of her, King Candy still sleeping soundly. She made a face, letting him slip and fall from her hands, landing with a thud on the ground.

"Oof!" King Candy cried as he was jostled from his sleep, stumbling as he got to his feet and look around, dusting himself off. "R- Rayne? Where… where are we?"

"Bluthtown, I presume… I had to carry this imbecile here all the way from Game Central Station. I must say, those sickeningly sweet ponies sure can do a lot of damage… gives new meaning to the phrase; 'looks can be deceiving.'"

"Enough about that!" Turbo cried. "You were in the real world, and he had to at least be close to where Kara was, you know how she is doing, I know you do!" Turbo took a step forward. "Please Rayne, at least say she's alright, that she's safe!"

"So you want me to say it even if it isn't true? Just to ease your worries with irrational words of comfort?" She answered.

"Oh, Kara? She's-" King Candy started, but was slapped on the back of his head by Rayne.

"Ouch!" King Candy yelped, frowning and rubbing his head where he had been hit.

Turbo gasped. "I knew it! Tell me where she is and how she's doing! I know you didn't bring her back her on purpose, Rayne! I need to see her again, please! Just give me the device and I'll-" He reached for the device, and Rayne yanked her hand back, smirking as she chuckled lowly.

"Not so fast, Turbo… no pun intended by the way. This is not part of the agreement I made with the sergeant. My only end of the agreement was to return the king to cartoonverse, and I have. Now I owe you all nothing more and you will all spare me my life, as promised."

King Candy furrowed his brow at this, looking back at her. "Wait… tho, you only helped me and brought me back here becauthe of a deal?"

"Yes, now you and I will have nothing more to do with each other." Rayne said before turning to Turbo. "And I will be keeping this. What happens to any of you, Kara included, matters not to me."

Turbo furrowed his brows as Rayne walked off. The one thing that could unite us now was being walked away with, and he fell to his knees in defeat.

* * *

**Oh no! Turbo came so close, yet so far! Will he be able to get the device from Rayne? Will the characters come together to make some kind of solution? Will Rafael and Kara be able to escape the overly happy human race for much longer? Find out more in future chapters! Thank you for reading! :D**


	11. A Choice of Survival

**Well readers, things are going to start heating up now and this roller coaster is cruising higher and higher up the incline. The drop will be upon us soon, and I hope you are all ready! Thank you for your support thus far, and please enjoy this next exciting chapter! :D**

* * *

King Candy looked on, furrowing his brows as he took a step forward. "R- Rayne, pleathe, come back!"

Rayne bared her teeth slightly as she quickened her pace. "Idiot…" She muttered under her breath.

Thumbelina watched the scene unravel before her, pouting as her wings began to beat quickly. She speedily flew over to Rayne, her small arms clinging to the device and pulling it out of her pocket before hurrying back. Rayne quickly caught wind of this, gasping as she growled.

"Get back here with that, before I crush you into pixie dust!" Rayne shouted as she ran after Thumbelina. Just as she was about to grab it, the device was dropped into Turbo's hands, who grinned.

"Thanks, girlie!" Turbo exclaimed to Thumbelina.

"Anything to help a friend!" She giggled.

Rayne's eyes lit up with rage, thrusting her hand out. Turbo felt a small pull on the device, but experienced no problem when he kept a firm hold on it.

"Face it Rayne, your powers are weakened. You can't take it back now, just accept it." Turbo narrowed his eyes. "I'm going back to the real world and I'm going to see for myself how Kara is doing."

King Candy watched the scene before him, and it triggered a memory to replay in his head from before all of this occurred, when the events shown in the Wreck-it-Ralph film took place.

_"Pleathe, Turbo… I… I don't want to hurt her anymore… she'th thuch a thweet little girl; she jutht wants to do what she wath programmed to do! To rathe!"_

_"She CAN'T race! If she races, she could WIN, and if she wins, both you AND I are history! Do you understand?! Do you understand that this is our life now?! Both of us are mere parasites existing off of others!"_

_"I… I jutht want… I jutht want to make my thubjecth happy… ith that tho hard to athk?"_

_"They aren't your subjects. They're MINE. You are just a mask. A disguise. A LIE. MY lie. This is the way it has to be, so just accept it."_

King Candy snapped out of the memory, and white hot rage overtook him as he screamed on the top of his lungs, running at Turbo and knocking him down. Turbo widened his eyes in surprise, growling as he tried to get the crazed king off of him while hanging onto the device. Thumbelina gasped, flying off to see if there was someone who could help. King Candy grit his teeth as he scrambled to rip the device from Turbo's hand, and Turbo took a few moments to get in just the right position to kick King Candy right in the gut, knocking him off. Before he could get too far however, King Candy grabbed his ankle, making him fall and the device was knocked out of his hand, clattering just a few inches in front of him. All three went for it, but King Candy grabbed it first.

"You call yourthelf fast?" King Candy grinned darkly. "Now whoth the lother, huh?" He turned to Rayne. "Look, my dear, I've got it jutht for you!"

Rayne narrowed her eyes, about to take it when King Candy pulled his hand away. "Give it to me, you moron!" Rayne shouted.

"Not tho fatht! You have to promithe me thomething! If I give you thith devithe, I have to come with you wherever you go!"

"Absolutely not. You will give it to me and then we shall be done."

"No can do! I can't jutht give up thomeone tho beautiful thith eathily!"

"Listen to me, very closely. You are trying my patience and I have not a single care about anyone or anything. If you were rotting in the street I would walk over you, if you were in peril I would watch your life fade away so agonizingly slow that you beg for death, and I would not shed one tear, or offer you one ounce of comfort or mercy. When both the cartoonverse and the real world are completely wiped clean of all you insolent, writhing creatures, I will have recovered fully and proceed to wipe out those putrid abominations and will have not one, but two entire worlds to call my own. And there is nothing, NOTHING you can do to stop me, so just stuff your sick, perverse affections for me up your air filled trousers and GIVE ME THAT DEVICE!" Rayne shrieked as she glared angrily at King Candy.

However, what Rayne didn't realize during her rant, was that Turbo had recovered from his fall, and grabbed the nearest blunt object to him, sneaking up behind her. At those last words, he gripped the object firmly, baring his teeth angrily as he swung, making direct contact with the back of Rayne's head. The sickening sound of the object colliding with her skull filled the air, and King Candy could only watch in horror as the vengeful creature before him fell to the side like a limp rag doll. In his stupor, Turbo grabbed the device from him, taking a step back.

"R- Rayne!" King Candy gasped, going over to hold her head up, petting her face. He looked at his hands, covered in fresh blood. He slowly looked over to Turbo, and a new rush of white hot anger washed over him as he charged. As he did so, the button was pressed, and the two disappeared in an instant.

Thumbelina returned then with Calhoun, Ralph and Rosie. Felix had stayed behind with Vanellope.

"Oh dear… they were… they were just here! I know they were!" Thumbelina cried.

Calhoun's eyes widened then. "Thumbelina, is it? I believe every word you said." She went over to where Rayne lay, narrowing her eyes as she took her wrist into her hands, feeling for a pulse. "Alive, but knocked out pretty good. So… she kept true to her word after all." She stood up, turning to the others.

"What do we do now?" Rosie frowned. "Where do you think Turbo and King Candy went?"

"Well, from what I can tell, it seems that there was a brawl… they may have traveled back in the fight. Can't do anything now but deal with her. Ralph, pick her up and bring her back to our area. I have a few questions for sleeping beauty when she wakes up." Calhoun started to march back, and Ralph sighed as he went over, picking Rayne up.

"Turbo…" Ralph sighed. "Always getting into trouble…"

* * *

I had been sound asleep, not noticing Rayne's nor King Candy's disappearance. When voices erupted from the other room however, I groaned, sitting up and rubbing my eyes tiredly. I looked around, noticing it was still night time. I looked over at Rafael, still fast asleep as I furrowed a brow at the sound. I slowly tiptoed out of the room, down a couple doors just outside one of the other bedrooms upstairs. My great aunt slept downstairs, so there was no way she'd hear anything that was going on, thankfully. I hovered outside the door, silently listening to the voices from inside.

"You are a monthter!" King Candy shouted, clenching his fists. "For YEARTH you forthed me to live a life that made me out to be thome kind of eh, eh- a tyrant! I- I would NEVER punish an innothent thubject! I should have punished YOU!"

"Look, I get it, I was awful, okay? I'm not that person anymore, King Candy! I'm different now, I'm changed, I actually care about how other people feel and I've learned what love is! I… I even made it up to Vanellope… and I treated her the worst."

"No, Turbo. You may have put that girl through yearth of mithery, yeth, but she got her happy ending. Me? I'm thtill wallowing in my failed existhtenthe! Where'th my happy ending, huh? Where are MY friendth, and MY loved oneth, and my joy, huh? You are the LASTHT one who detherveth ANY of that!" His voice began to shake, holding his face as he looked down at the ground. "I jutht… I want to BE thomoeone… I want to find my purpothe… but without anyone who I actually mean anything to… I'm thtill jutht living in your shadow."

Turbo's expression softened, glancing to the side sadly. "I never really paid attention to how you felt about anything… I mean, I'm not denying I was heartless, then. But you have to understand something. Someone very dear to me is in this world and I have to find her. She would do anything to help someone like you because she knows what it's like to be invisible. She's questioned her own existence many times, but she found me. And both of our lives were changed from it. I can't change what I've done, but I can change what I do from now on. You can either keep holding a grudge, like I did once, and let it eat you alive, or you can change too."

King Candy slowly looked back over at Turbo, huffing a bit. "Fine. I'll compromothe. But thith does NOT make uth friendth. What you did ith unforgivable."

I held my breath as I realized who was behind the door, not able to move. I was so engrossed into listening to this conversation, shocked and intrigued at the same time of the relationship between the two characters that when the doorknob began to turn, I was jostled out of my trance and I stumbled back, falling right on my behind as Turbo opened the door. It was dark, and Turbo jumped back.

"Who is that?! Who are you? Tell me who you are!" He shouted.

I gasped a bit, still in shock that Turbo was actually here before me. Was this a dream? A sick, cruel joke? At this moment, I couldn't tell. "I-… I-…"

"I said tell me who you are!" Turbo stormed over, grabbing me by my collar and dragging me down the hall until he reached just outside of my bedroom. The moonlight peeking through the blinds in stripes was cast on both of us, and as Turbo reared his hand back, he gasped lightly when light shone onto my face, holding his breath as he slowly lowered his hand. He looked upon me in disbelief for a few moments, letting go of my collar. After a few moments, he finally remembered how to speak.

"K- Kara…?"

"Yeah… it's me…" I got to my feet slowly, only to fall back to my knees a few moments later as we both hugged each other tightly, our shock melting into joy.

"I thought you were gone…" Turbo said as he rested his head on my shoulder. "Mickey told us what happened here… I thought that… I had just let that rat banish you to your… codes, it's worse than death…"

I smiled softly, closing my eyes for a moment as I held him close in the hug. "I'm fine… I can explain everything to you in the morning and you can do the same. But for now, we have to rest, okay?" I heard a shuffling of feet behind me, and King Candy was walking away from us. Remembering their conversation, I stood and turned to him. "Hey… you're with us, right?"

"Oh, what doeth it matter? What good am I? I don't even know what I'm good FOR. I wath thuppothed to rule a kingdom for junior ratherth, and I can't even do that! What do you even want me around for, huh?"

"Because you're my friend, King Candy. And you've stuck with Rafael and I through all of this."

Turbo blinked. "Rafael? Who's that?"

King Candy turned, looking up at me. "I'm… your friend?"

"Yeah…" I smiled, leaning over to Turbo. "Rafael is a buddy, no worries."

King Candy stood still for a few moments, processing what I said before he burst into tears, sobbing loudly as he shuffled over, hugging me. It was quite comical really, but I smiled warmly, hugging him back. "Th- Th a- ank y- you…" He sniffled.

"You're welcome. Alright, we all need to get some rest. And I'm going to keep THIS…" I plucked the device from King Candy's pocket. "… in a safe place." I walked into the bedroom where Rafael was STILL sleeping soundly, putting the device in a drawer, locking it, and placing the key around my neck. "We'll talk more tomorrow, okay?"

Turbo and King Candy gave a nod, and King Candy skipped off to bed. Turbo climbed up next to me, smiling as I rested my head down. "I'm so glad you're safe."

I closed my eyes and nodded. "I'm glad you are too… I thought you guys were goners…" I said sleepily. Soon, we all returned to a peaceful slumber, the worries of the world put on hold at least through the rest of the night.

* * *

Rayne groaned as she came to, and as she started to sit up, she hissed in pain as she gripped the back of her head. She exhaled deeply, cracking her eyes open and adjusting to her surroundings before looking around. When she realized where she was and who was in her presence, she growled weakly as Calhoun stared her down, holding her firearm.

"Things just get better and better every time I wake up…" Rayne spat as she slowly sat up the rest of the way.

"Touche." Calhoun said, tightening the grip on her firearm. "Now, before I beat the ever-loving arrogance out of you for abandoning us, you're going to answer a few questions."

Rayne raised her brows, laughing loudly. "You're going to harm me for ABANDONING you? What did you expect? Did you expect for me to help you, like you're some kind of precious asset? I could care less if you were all blown to smithereens! Why would I HELP you?"

"Answer my questions!" Calhoun jabbed her firearm at Rayne's chest.

"We had a deal, sergeant. I brought the king back, you now must fulfill your end of the deal."

"Oh yeah?" Calhoun leaned in closer. "He's not here NOW. He was transported back to the real world with Turbo when they were fighting over the device… the fairy saw everything."

Rayne's expression melted into one of uncertainty, her brows furrowed slightly as she looked around. Ralph and Felix took a step closer, standing by Calhoun.

"I… I did, EXACTLY what I-"

"You've got two choices, Rayne." Calhoun clicked the safety off her firearm. "We're changing the game now. It's MY turn to have the upper hand over YOU. I know you still don't have your powers back. And if you don't make the right choice, right now, you will NEVER see your powers, or anything, ever again. Everything and everyone as we know it is in danger. We are being relocated to cancelville tomorrow. Mickey says the pony collective is growing in numbers by the day, they know we're here, and they will drive us into either banishment, or to extinction. The LAST thing we need is YOU causing us any more problems. So… now that you're up to speed, I will present your two options. You can help us, and you can do whatever it is you need to do to get your powers back so you can help us more effectively, or you can decide that you only fight for your own greedy desires, and your head will become a bloody pulp the moment I pull this trigger. I have a family here, and I will do whatever I have to do to save them. So, what will your decision be, RAYNE?" Calhoun growled.

Rayne took a moment to glare darkly at all of them. She couldn't fight, that's for sure, and flight was also not an option… Calhoun was a surgeon with her firearm and would tear Rayne to bits if she tried to run. Death was staring her in the face, and that was not an option. Her eyes slowly returned to focus on Calhoun, extending her hand slowly.

"You have my word. I will assist you in this war, and will use my abilities to ensure your enemies suffer the worst fate possible." She narrowed her eyes. "I will make sure… they suffer to their last, wretched breath."

Calhoun nodded firmly, and the two shook hands.

* * *

It was the next morning, and I looked over at King Candy and Turbo, wide eyed. "She was just going to leave us here?" I sighed. "That shouldn't be a surprise… Rayne is loyal to no one but herself."

King Candy glared at Turbo. "She could be in theriouth trouble now, becauthe you hurt her!"

"You just heard everything I told Kara and you STILL like her?! I just went over with you our ENTIRE history with Rayne with you!"

"I don't care! I think she'th the motht thtunning creature I've ever theen! I mean, her eyeth are like thinnamon candieth, and she'th got thuch an… an edge… beautiful, thweet on the outhide, but tart on the inthide…"

Turbo shook his head. "And you called ME a nutcase?! You're delusional! You are actually attracted to THAT?! You have the nerve to criticize me! I watched her levitate Kara in the air and break almost every bone in her body!"

Rafael cringed. "Jeez…"

"You have issues, Candy." Turbo shook his head.

"Well, if Kara can like thomeone like you, maybe I can like thomeone like her."

"Alright, alright. We need to plan, you guys. If what Turbo said was true, we don't have time to waste. The ponies are getting stronger. We need to decide where and when is the best place to strike first, and then continue on from there."

"Well, problem. Cartoonverse is pretty much in ruins now. The overseers were planning on moving everyone to cancelville… our only option of surviving now is to live in banishment. There's barely enough to live on as it is, but with every toon moving there… I don't know how any of us will make it." Turbo frowned.

King Candy glanced at Turbo. "That'th where I would have been heading if I wathn't thtill attached to your code. It wathn't until you came to thith world that we were finally theparated."

Turbo sighed and rolled his eyes. "So, Kara, what exactly made the humans go crazy, again? Why are they all fighting for the ponies now?"

"Well, based on what happened to Kara and everything else, she and I came up with a probable theory that the ponies put something in all the pastry products sold in the major food chains; cookies, cakes, CUPCAKES…" Rafael cringed. "And whatever it was, made them turn into idiotic followers of the pony collective."

"But… you said you ATE one of those cookies, Kara… Mickey had told us that no human was immune to it. How is it that you didn't become one of them?" Turbo asked.

"I don't know… I got pretty sick, like my body was rejecting whatever it was that was put into the cookies. It was like my body recognized it as a poison." I replied.

"I'm not even going to risk trying to see if I'M immune… if I ever become like that, please shoot me." Rafael said.

Just then, I heard something downstairs, a loud thud, and whipped my head towards the door. My eyes wide, I quickly took the necklace off from around my neck with the key to the drawer. "Rafa, get the device out and guard it with your life." I said quietly as I tiptoed out the door, peeking downstairs. "Aunt Vera? Is that you?" When I heard no reply, I bit my lip, slowly descending the stairs as I inhaled sharply. I went to my aunt's room, opening the door quietly to see her still asleep, sighing with relief. However, my relief was short lived when I began to hear heavy thudding noises against the front door, and more thuds erupted around the outside of the house, as if something was slamming their body against it. I ran quickly, grabbing a chordless phone to put in my aunt's room before shutting and locking the door, slipping the key underneath. I bounded up the stairs, the others hearing the noise too. "What's going on?" I panicked.

Rafael slowly looked towards the window where Turbo and King Candy were looking at. I rushed to it to take a look, and I gasped as I saw, to my horror, that ponies and unicorns were thumping against the house, trying to get in, all with those creepy, smiling expressions. "Kara, we need an escape plan, NOW!" Rafael shouted.

"Well, there's only one way we're going to get out of this!" Turbo replied, looking to the device in his hand.

"Are you kidding? You said they're coming in swarms over there!" Rafael cried.

I screamed in surprise when pegusi began to fly right at the house, and I could hear some tearing at the shingles on the roof. "How did they find us?"

"How would I know?" Rafael shouted. "What do we do?!"

"We HAVE to go back to cartoonverse, it's our only option! We stay here and we're history! There is NO where else to go!" Turbo shouted back.

"Rafa, he's right! If we stay here, they'll hurt my aunt! Please!" I pleaded.

He furrowed his brows and nodded, and we all ran over to him to join hands. Outside, Rainbowdash chuckled lightly as she saw us freaking out from outside, looking through our bedroom window.

"They're trapped inside! Break the windows and capture them!" She shouted.

I held my breath as one by one, I heard every window in the house being broken into. I felt a gust of air as Rafael pushed the button, and we were thrown into hyper space. A pegusai had been just inches from grasping us when we disappeared.

* * *

**Woah. Talk about a close one! What will happen when Turbo and the gang returns to cartoonverse? Will Rayne's powers be restored and will she stay true to her word? What is the fate of the toons? Will they be thrown into a life of running in fear? More answers soon to come, thank you all for reading and please review! :D**


	12. A Strong Prejudice

**Hello again folks! After another busy work week, I'm gonna try to get a few more chapters in before Christmas. Hope you're ready, because things are going to start to get intense as we get closer and closer to the highest point of this roller coaster. Thank you for those who have R&R'd, and please enjoy this latest chapter! :D**

* * *

The overseers were preparing everyone to migrate into cancelville, having sought refuge in Bluthtown long enough, but according to scouts assigned by them, it seemed the ponies were drawing nearer and would not be satisfied until they were completely out of the residential part of cartoonverse. Many of the characters had never seen cancelville with their own eyes, and were fearful of what they may soon face. Would they ever return to their proud homes? The future seemed bleak as the Wreck-it-Ralph gang gathered their things.

"Ralph… do you think there will be enough for us to live on in cancelville? Do you think they'll be nice to us there…?" Vanellope asked.

"I'm not sure… but just remember that I will protect you, okay?" Ralph smiled sadly, hugging the small girl close.

Calhoun sighed lightly. "When we reach there, I'm going to go to the overseers and discuss the possibility of a counter attack. With all of these characters here, it seems silly that we can't all fight back."

"Think of it this way, sergeant." Rayne turned to her. "Imagine a group of very strong, powerful individuals. Now, take a small insect. One insect can be easily destroyed, right? Now imagine thousands of insects. Can those few, very strong individuals destroy ALL of them without being critically injured? We can't just go out and attack them. They must be studied, we must form a plan. This isn't just a run out and fight with all you've got kind of battle. This must be handled with a bit of strategy."

Calhoun sighed a bit. "For once, you've got a point. Then we will all have to start using our brains and think of something once we're settled in cancelville."

Felix looked up at his wife. "Sweetheart… don't you think we should wait a bit to see if King Candy or Turbo come back? What if they come back with something from the real world that may help us?"

She shook her head. "If we stay behind, who knows what will happen to us. We have to go with everyone else."

As all the characters began to make way for another long trek, something was happening just outside of town. Thunderstorms rumbled in the distance, and the far off, chilling shrieking of the ponies' high pitched giggling drew ever nearer like an impending super storm traveling closer and closer to Bluthtown. As almost all the characters made their way outside of the town, four individuals appeared, taking a few moments to recover from their own close call with impending doom. When I finally caught my breath and realized we had all made it, I calmed a bit, looking around. "Holy mackerel… look at that, in the distance!"

"Oh, damn…" Rafael cringed. "Look at all of them! And they're heading this way!"

"We've got to get moving…" Turbo looked around, noticing the town is empty. "Oh, codes… don't tell me they left already?!"

"What do you mean? What's going on?" I asked.

"All of the characters were here, and were supposed to leave for cancelville, TODAY!"

"But we'll never catch up with them! The ponieth are making their way here and they'll thee uth! They'll remember who we are and want to capture you two humanth!" King Candy exclaimed.

I furrowed my brow with worry, sighing. In the midst of the panic, I slowly looked up, realization hitting me. "Rafael, stand still."

Rafa blinked. "Don't tell me this is the thing in a movie where something scary is drooling right behind me, please…"

"No, just…" I rolled my eyes, holding my palm out. Rafa went to poke it and I smacked his hand away, concentrating. When he began to levitate, a smile graced my features, and his eyes widened when his feet were no longer touching the ground.

"Wha- okay- n- no, what's happening? Put me down!" Rafael cried.

"My powers…" I whispered, looking at my hands. "They're back." I let him back down, smiling at the small group. "I know how we can catch up with the others." In just a few moments, the four of us were zipping through the air as we made our way through Bluthtown. "Now we have to keep a bit low to draw less attention to ourselves."

"Well you're making us float, so we really don't have much of a choice how high or low we fly, do we?" Rafael replied. "I swear, if I hadn't already seen what I have, I'd think I were on drugs."

"Hm… good point." I giggled soaring forward. I soon smiled as I saw a large mass of characters heading towards a very dreary, barren landscape. "It's them!" I cried.

Rafael's eyes widened then. "Is… is that… Mario? Down there?" He pointed.

"Sure is!" I smiled.

"You mean… THE Mario?"

"Yes, codes, it's him! Who do you think it is, Donkey Kong?"

"No, thilly! He'th over on the wetht end of the group, I can thee him there!" King Candy noted.

Rafael was in awe at all the different characters from cartoons and video games. "I think… I think my brain just stopped."

"Come on, I just caught sight of Ralph, so the other characters from the movie must be nearby!" I cried, and we all floated to them. "Ralph! Ralph, it's me!" I hovered by him, and he, as well as the others, looked up in surprise as our feet touched the ground.

"K- Kara?" Ralph gasped. "I… I thought… Mickey said-"

"She survived… she and this other guy we brought back with us."

"I have a name, you know." Rafael rolled his eyes.

Calhoun looked around at all of us. "How did you survive? What exactly happened?"

"I can explain everything once we get to cancelville. I can speak to Mickey, and we can all get on the same page before we decide how we're going to-" I stopped when Rayne stepped into view, and my eyes widened. Angered, I thrust my hand forward, making her levitate. "YOU!"

Rayne grit her teeth, staring at me. "What?!"

"You traitor? What are you doing here?! You'd better have a damn good explanation as to why you're here!"

"If you put me down and BLINK a few times I'll tell you, you psychopath!" Rayne spat.

I narrowed my eyes, letting her down. "Start talking."

"Look, I left because I had a deal to fulfill with the sergeant. I said I would bring Candy man here back so Turbo wouldn't get in trouble later for leaving him in the real world!"

"So you just LEAVE Rafael and I there to die?"

"Well, as you can clearly see, it's not looking too wonderful here, either!"

"That's not the point, Rayne! You planned to leave us there to whatever fate was coming!"

"Well, none of that matters now, does it? Listen, I agreed to help cartoonverse however I could, and I plan to do so when we reach cancelville and working on getting my powers back."

I looked to Calhoun. "Did you agree to that?"

She nodded firmly. "I did."

I stepped up to her. "So… you just watched Mickey rip me away from the one place where I belonged… back to a place where I could have had my mind stolen from me and my body be turned into a hollow shell… but you will make a deal and show mercy for someone who possessed you to nearly kill your husband and destroy your home?"

Calhoun tightened her lips, glancing to the side. "I'm sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Tamora… the right thing isn't always so black and white. Authority isn't always something to blindly follow." I said.

Before anyone could say anything else, Rayne furrowed a brow, looking at her hands and exhaling shakily.

"I… I feel something…" She whispered.

Just then, Mickey was seen weaving through the crowd, making his way towards us.

"What… what is he…?" I asked, and Rayne grinned.

"He has spotted you…" She replied, grabbing my face with one hand and speaking lowly, her fingers threatening to crush my jaw. "And my powers are returning." She shoved me back, before slinking down so she was two dimensional, weaving away like a snake to avoid detection from the approaching mouse.

"Stop!" Mickey shouted as the surrounding crowd dispersed to make way for him, holding out his keyblade to me.

"Mickey, listen… I'm not one of them. I-… we… Rafael and I… we survived. Our whole world has been-" I started.

"Silence!" He shouted. "You've already compromised the safety of every character in this world and you're doing it again! Humans were not meant to be here, and characters were not meant to be in the human world! Look at all of the chaos that is ensuing because that has happened!"

"Mickey, please! I never meant to cause any harm! I- I even saved everyone in the Wreck-it-Ralph film once, I stopped a rogue video game character from wiping out the minds of all characters alike!"

"Yes, I did hear about that problem in Game Central Station, a problem that was brought upon when YOU arrived there!"

I turned to the others, hoping at least one of them would speak up for me.

"Now you listen to me, you RAT." Turbo marched up to him. "If you think you're going to banish her again, think again!" He shouted. "We're all in the same boat here! I saw what happened in the real world, and so did King Candy!"

"King Candy…?" Mickey furrowed a brow. "But, I thought he was fused with you…?"

"Well we became UNFUSED, genius! We saw everything. It's just as much as a mess as it is here. Now put your keyblade down and listen for two seconds!"

"I'm sorry Turbo, but I have to protect my citizens, and the other overseers have to protect them too. I can't just let these humans roam free, they're not like us."

I looked at Calhoun, furrowing my brows. She opened her mouth to say something, but sighed with frustration, glancing away.

"Wait, don't lock them up!" Ralph shouted. "I've seen what she can do, she can help us fight the ponies!"

Rafael groaned as our hands were tied. "We just don't catch a break, do we?"

"Mister Mouse… if I may, I can elaborate on what Ralph is saying, and add that Kara has indeed proven to be a very good-"

"Enough!" Mickey shouted, and Felix gulped and scrambled back over by his wife. He stood on a rock so all the characters could see him better. "Let me tell you something about humans, folks!" Mickey frowned. "I've been around longer than most of you have, so listen carefully! Humans, for us, are a necessary evil! They are greedy, they squabble over the smallest things and they live in a world full of unspeakable evil and corruption! As they advance, instead of our world influencing theirs, their world is influencing ours!" He waves his hand to the large cages containing the hostile characters. "Characters can only exist if they can find their way into a human mind and gain power through broadcasting either in publications or more notably, on television screens. Without it, our home base decays into ruin and we must relocate to cancelville. But humans have somehow gained the ability to create things of their own, spewing them into our world where we have to handle these dangerous characters who are a constant threat to all of us!" He points his finger at Rafael and I. "It is your kind that has doomed us all!"

"Hey, come on, we didn't do anything!" Rafael shouted.

"Lock them up and we will deal with them one we reach cancelville!" Mickey shouted before turning and heading back to the front of the massive group with the other overseers. He then stopped, turning. "And lock up Turbo and King Candy as well… because they are the ones who originally crossed the line."

I gasped, trying to beg Mickey to stop, but he would hear no more. At the front, he hugged Minnie protectively to him as he continued forward. The four of us were thrown into a cage similar to the ones the characters from the land of creepypasta were in, and we were shaken around as we were dragged along on the large cage on wheels.

Hub looked to Mickey, furrowing his brow. "Don't you think that was a bit harsh?"

Mickey looked at Hub sadly. "I have to do what's right. I have to do what will protect everyone. You may not be able to see that, but I do. You're the last one who should be reprimanding me, you are a big part of this problem too." He said, continuing on without another word.

Calhoun ran up to us, walking a bit slower when she caught up. "Look, I'm sorry… I can't-"

"You know, for someone who is supposed to be my friend, I expected more. You didn't even say a word to him."

"Kara, I'm in a bad position here… I have to follow Mickey's law, or-"

"Or what, you'll end up like us?" I looked up at her sadly. "I would do anything to save your life. Maybe I… I just don't fit in anywhere."

Calhoun slowed to a stop, sighing lightly at those words. She stared at the ground, her feet, and she suddenly saw that the difference between right and wrong had been blurred.

As the mass of characters marched on, and she was out of Mickey's sight, she stood, coming out of her two dimensional form. Rayne chuckled lightly, watching the four of us being carted off and the scene playing out before her.

"Ah… a very interesting display…" She shook her head. "They still don't understand that love and loyalty is a lie… one cannot serve two masters… and when they all realize that, they will all realize there is only one who can hold the crown, one who can hold all the power." She looked around her, the dreary atmosphere already feeling like home to her. "And that one will soon be me."

* * *

**I realize this chapter was a bit short, but I promise that there is more to come! Stay tuned and please comment with your thoughts! :D**


	13. A Change Of Pace

**Greetings, readers! I've had quite a busy work week, but I have the next few days off so I will resume working on this fic and exposing more of this exciting adventure! What new twists and turns are in store? Thanks for everyone who has been reading this story, please read and review and most importantly, enjoy! :D**

* * *

Rafael took to singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall, and by bottle number 67 I was kicking his leg in annoyance, and he huffed as he found he had to do something else to occupy himself without further aggravating everyone else. Turbo looked up at me sadly, and if he could, he would have reached a hand over to take mine.

"I'm sorry this had to happen. I just… I wish there was some way to make this easier… to make Mickey see we could work together." He said.

"We'll just have to put up with this until the next course of action, I guess…" I sighed. "There's nothing we can do about it now."

It was nightfall by the time we reached cancelville. We looked back, cringing as the swarm of ponies had reached Bluthtown, tearing the place apart. Everyone had made it safely, and the overseers hoped that the ponies would be temporarily satisfied that all the characters were at least out of their way until they came up with a plan for a counterattack. However, things looked bleak; the more time passed, the more ponies were being made and the harder it would be to fight them.

Mickey gathered around with the overseers, sighing lightly.

"Come on, let's get discussions underway." Goku frowned. "We don't have time to waste."

Mickey nodded. "Indeed we don't… but we have to wait for the overlord of cancelville. If we're going to survive here, with what limited resources there already is, we have to cooperate with him."

"The overlord of cancelville…?" Hub tilted his head.

Dirk cleared his throat. "Yes… he uh… isn't particularly overjoyed of our arrival."

The other overseers turned as the overlord approached them, and was surprised to see that the hooded figure was about Mickey's height.

"So... all these years you left me to rot... irony has struck and now you need US. You thought you had control of everything, didn't you? That you were pretty much king both in cartoonverse AND in the human world! This sure threw a wrench in your little empire, didn't it, MOUSE?"

Mickey sighed. "I didn't come here to argue. I just want to make sure everyone is safe. Please... let's just talk this over... Oswald."

The overseer growled lightly, flipping off his hood so that two large bunny ears popped up, revealing that it was, indeed, Oswald, Mickey's older but less popular, and more bitter, brother. "Oh, so now that YOU'RE on the sticking end, you want to talk. But when I begged for years to just let me and my wife stay in Disneyverse, you preached how it would be a risk, that there would be a greater chance of the erosion happening to us! Well now look around! All of cartoonverse is eroding! How did we manage to survive BEFORE humans got smart and created technology, huh?"

"Oswald, as human populations exploded, so did our populations here. You know this. We couldn't possibly care for them all on our own. We needed the humans' assistance to create the power necessary to keep our environments secure. We can't do it on our own. And humans needed US because they needed someone to turn to in their time of despair."

Oswald shook his head. "No... because the ones that are 'lacking' take up too much power to keep afloat, so they have to be banished. Like you banished me."

The overseers listened silently to the conversation, and Hub looked down. He understood Oswald's sentiments exactly, and it was this fear of being cast away that led him to make poor decisions, letting the ponies use whatever materials they wanted in their act to invade and take over.

"I know what I did seemed harsh at the time." Mickey sighed. "I just... I thought I was doing the right thing."

Oswald narrowed his eyes. "So what now, mouse? What do you expect us all to do? You need to get me up to speed of everything you know, first of all. Tell me everything you know about their attack strategies."

"Well, Hub will have to help me with that." Mickey looked back to him, waving him over.

Hub floated over, clearing his throat. "It all started three years ago when my province first came into existence. It's not a very big one, not compared to the others that have been around much longer and hold far higher levels of viewing power than mine." He glanced around a bit before continuing. "Soon, new citizens began to materialize into the province, and they all held great potential. Especially..." He sighed. "The ponies... there was just something about them that humans went crazy over. They held the bulk of our viewing power. It seemed... that many of the citizens in my province existed in the human world as toys. But the weirder thing was, previous versions of them had existed."

"Yes..." Mickey nodded. "See, this phenomenon is common in cartoonverse. There are two conditions of character evolution; progressus solus, which happens to characters like me, who undergo changes in appearance and form, but I am still the same character. Then, such as the ponies, there are those who undergo progressus novus, where a new generation of previously existing characters are made, but they may be completely different characters themselves; however, they would not have come into existence if it were not for their predecessors."

"So what does this have anything to do with anything, mouse?" Oswald tilted his head.

"I think all the newer characters need to learn about these ancient ways of our world and understand them. The more we know, the more it may give us a chance to defeat them." Mickey replied.

"Hub, continue your story." Oswald said. "So, how did it come to this point?"

"Over the last three or so years, as the ponies accumulated more and more viewing power, at a rate greater than my other citizens; I mean, I was overjoyed, they were keeping the place in tip top shape... they would come to me asking me things, let us build this, let us build that, it will be good for the province, for everyone... they just... looked at me with those big eyes, and they would tell me how they work so hard... they made me a big pushover. I was so blind to what they were really doing, I said yes to everything, anything they wanted to do, I let them. I had no idea that the apocalypse of cartoonverse was happening right under my nose..." Hub furrowed his brows deeply, closing his eyes. "I... I'm so sorry. My greed caused this."

Oswald turned to Mickey. "So, we now know how they took over cartoonverse. But I thought you said they made contact with the humans? They didn't need to do that if they were just taking over cartoonverse. They must be trying to take over the human world as well."

Mickey nodded. "I sent Chip and Dale to spy for me and they said the entire human race had bent to their will."

"Why? Isn't cartoonverse enough?" Oswald asked.

"No, you don't understand... they will never stop." Hub said, and the overseers returned their attention to him. "They want to consume everything. Mickey, this is why we need to find out all we can from that human that came-"

"Silence!" Mickey cried. "We will figure out how to stop them here in cartoonverse, and then we will seal off the boundary between the real world and ours."

"But what about viewing power?" Goku asked. "Without it, there is no way we can all survive on our own!"

Mickey rubbed his temples. "We will have to keep everything sealed until we can figure out an alternate solution. But for now, we need to end this crisis quickly and make that our first priority. We can deal with the other problems later."

* * *

I sighed lightly, resting the back of my head against the inside of the steel wired cage, looking up into the night sky. For a barren wasteland, the sky here was even beautiful, clear, stars dotting the blackness. Everyone around me had fallen asleep, and I was comforted that they could at least rest, even for a little while. None of them deserved it, and I exhaled, wishing there was an easy solution to get out of this. My moment of thought was broken when I suddenly heard footsteps in the darkness. I sat up, alert now as I grunted, struggling to turn myself around because I was bound, shaking the whole cage. I listened closely, hearing small, metal clicks along with the footsteps, and my breath hitched. I was too afraid to call out to whomever was approaching, not knowing if they were friend or foe. There was much I didn't know about this place, and what exactly roamed in it. As the individual stepped into the moonlight, I gasped lightly in surprise.

"... Tamora?" I called out quietly. "What... are you doing here?"

Calhoun put a finger to her lips as she came up to me. "Look... what I did was wrong. I... I realize this now. You've done so much for us and... I should have fought for you. I just... I thought that following the rules was always the right thing to do."

I smiled gently. "Sometimes in order to do the right thing, some rules have to be broken."

"Yeah yeah yeah move out of the way! Do you want me to free the human sacks of doom or what?" A voice called out.

I blinked, looking back up at Calhoun. "And that is...?"

She rolled her eyes. "He... well, IT promised to help me free you guys in exchange for me helping him getting him some... pod mechanism that inserts into it's back. That's why I wasn't here sooner."

I gasped, jumping back a bit as something jumped onto the cage, metallic appendages sprouting from his back as he cackled, sparks flying as he began to unfurl the wiring. "You... you're..."

"Yes! Yes, I am the almighty ZIM!" He proclaimed as he grunted, tearing open a hole in the wiring. By this time, the others were waking up, and Calhoun hopped in as she undid our binds.

"Wha... what's going on?" Rafael mumbled.

"We're being freed, wake up." I said, and Turbo smiled as he rubbed his wrists.

"Turbo-tastic!"

"Alright, come on. If we stick around here we're bound to get caught." Calhoun said, helping us out one by one.

King Candy was happily skipping along with us, happy to be out of there. "Stho, what'th the nexth sthep in thith plan of yourth?"

"Not really sure. We can't bring Kara and her friend back to the real world because it's too dangerous, we can't take them, or anyone really, outside of cancelville because it's too dangerous, and we can't keep them out in the open here because it's-"

"Too dangetouth, I get it!" King Candy piped. "Well, there'th got to be thomewhere we can bring them!"

"I can help you there."

We all turned, our eyes widening when we saw Rayne, and Ralph, Rosie, Felix and Vanellope were with her.

"What did you do to them?" I asked, quickly approaching her.

Rayne rolled her eyes. "If I wanted to do something to them, I'd chop them into little bits and throw away the evidence."

"Kara!" Rosie exclaimed, smiling as she ran over and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back. "Thank goodness you're all alright!"

"I'm glad you guys are okay too." I said as Ralph, Felix and Vanellope joined in the group hug, before Felix went over to his wife, happy she made it alright too.

"Enough of this squishy gooey stuff, Zim wants to smell the taste of freedom!"

Vanellope looked at him, tilting her head. "How do you smell the taste of something?"

Zim blinked at her. "Do not question Zim!"

"What are you, some kind of big booger?"

Zim's eye twitched. "Why you little-!"

"SHUT. UP." Rayne growled, getting everyone's attention. "Now. While you were all being captured, I found something that may be able to help your cause... and win one over on the king rat when he finds you have all escaped and capture you... and you know it will come to that point; as the sergeant made clear only moments ago, there is no where else for you to turn."

I approached Rayne. "What are you talking about? Where do you plan on taking us?"

Rayne tilted her head towards a cavern nearby. "I did some searching in there and found the answer to your troubles... well, some of them."

"And you expect me to trust you?" I scoffed.

"When have you not trusted me when you've run out of options?" Rayne smirked. "If we don't get things moving here, you will surely find yourself in a deeper hole than I came out of, my dear."

I narrowed my eyes, sighing. "Fine." I turned to the others. We are all staying together-" I saw Vanellope sticking her tongue out at Zim, who bared his teeth, about to shoot her with a ray gun when she glitched out of the way. "Oookay then, here's what's going to happen!" I said loudly as Ralph was about to bring Zim's impending doom, as he liked to coin things, upon him with his fist. "Zim, you're going to stand outside the cave and keep watch."

"You do not command Zim, only my tallest command me!"

"Uh, Zim? You notice that I AM taller than you? By a lot?"

"I-..." Zim stopped, going over my words and he hit his head with his hand. "Stupid, stupid stupid!"

"Keep watch and MAYBE I'll give you some praise when we come back." I patted his head and he swatted my hands away. "The rest of you can come with Rayne and I."

We headed into the cave, and Calhoun took out a high beam flashlight, turning it on. Rayne, with her powers returned, closed her eyes and inhaled a moment, a red, misty hue emanating from her as she floated forward. I felt more tense around her now; before, I could rest easy knowing she couldn't really hurt me. But with her powers back, I knew she was now capable of anything... I began to wonder if this was a good idea, doubted that her words were true; a chill surged down my spine as the thought crossed my mind that the only thing waiting at the end of this cave was our deaths.

"So... what exactly are you showing us, Rayne?" Ralph asked. "Can't see how something in a dark cave like this can help us."

"You shall see..." Rayne replied, grinning a bit as we pressed on.

It seemed like ages before we finally heard something in the distance. Curious as to what it might be, I began to walk a bit faster, my heart pounding as anticipation, fear, and anxiety built up in my chest, churning in an energetic stew as I almost broke into a run.

"Kara, not so fast, it could be dangerous!" Turbo cried.

"Yeah, and I can't KEEP UP with you!" Rafa grumbled.

I stopped, hearing hushing voices as Rayne passed from behind me, setting her feet on the ground. "What is that?" I asked. "Rayne, what is that?"

"Now don't be alarmed... they came from a simpler time..." She turned. "Sergeant, shine the light over here... and dim it a bit, they are not as... accustomed to the light as they once were..."

Calhoun nodded, dimming her light a bit and exhaling sharply as she shined it to the spot Rayne requested. When she did, Rosie squeaked in shock, clinging to Ralph's arm. Vanellope stared in horror, bumping a bit into King Candy. She looked up at him, and the character that had been the face of her torment through the events that took place in the film suddenly was mild compared to this, so much so that she clung to his jacket. He pat her shoulder, silent assuring her that it would be alright.

Felix placed a hand over his mouth. "Golly... what... what happened to these poor creatures...?" He spoke barely above a whisper.

Rayne turned to us after the initial shock passed. Before them, were frail, frightened ponies that looked a bit different from the ones wreaking havoc between the two worlds... but this was nto the worst part. Among them were either bare, or still rotting, skeletons of different species of their kind; pegusi, unicorns, ponies, and every one of the sea ponies, for there was no water in this barren land.

Among them, one human like skeleton laid with them.

"These were the ponies that existed in the beginning of their timeline, generation one. Many of them have perished, but the only ones that survived were Morning Glory, Shady, Fizzy, and Paradise." Rayne started. "They can tell you the details."

I looked to the pitiful creatures as one, Paradise, struggled to stand, her voice a bit hoarse. "When we were created, we wanted to bring joy and happiness to the young humans who viewed us." She started. "That's all we wanted. But as the years passed, things... began to change... we weren't appealing enough for the humans. They began to change what we had been created for... and the more appealing they made us... the uglier they became on the inside. They became... artificial. They still brought joy to humans, but something was terribly wrong when the newest generation came about. Their magic was tainted... corrupted..." Paradise looked to the others sadly. "One day, when we were dwelling here, though we had little resources, we shared and survived together. We gave the sea ponies what little water sources we had to live in. But then... then, they came..." she shuttered as she began to tell the terrible memory of that fateful day.

_Paradise smiled as Buttons decorated their space the best she could. Since they had been relocated to cancelville, it was difficult to cope with, but they remained optimistic since the new generation of their ponykind gained viewing power from humans, hoping that they could still bring them joy as they had always done. But on this day, their most unfathomable horrors would come true as the overly vibrant generation four ponies approached them, the main six, as the generation one ponykind went about their daily lives._

_"Look, it's Pinkie Pie!" Baby Lofty cried with joy. "They've come to see US! What a special day this is!"_

_Their joy would only last so long. Pinkie Pie smiled at the young pony, but wavered a bit when Meghan, the only human character in all the generations, approached them._

_"Greetings, Pinkie Pie. I'm so glad you've come to visit us." Meghan smiled._

_"Oh, it's the least we can do!" Pinkie giggled. "We wanted to come for a very special party gathering, to... lift your spirits!"_

_"How thoughtful!" Meghan clapped her hands together._

_"Let's all go in that cave there... that is there you keep your sea ponies, right? We shouldn't leave them out!" Twilight Sparkle asked._

_"Oh, that's a wonderful idea!" Meghan went with all the ponies, bringing them into the back of the cave, which was full of light and decorations. As they all talked, giggled and told stories, Pinkie Pie looked to Rainbowdash, nodding at her. Rainbowdash alerted other ponies from their generation to come, telling them they had the generation one ponies right where they wanted them. Several minutes later, the thundering sound of wings soaring entered into the cave, and other ponies followed behind them as the cheerful atmosphere was broken, confusion and fear felt among the generation one ponies as they were suddenly being attacked. Pegusi from generation four flapped their wings, dispersing the water in the pools and leaving the sea ponies flopping around helplessly. Meghan screamed as all of her friends cried out helplessly._

_Paradise and Meghan tried to run to each other for protection, but Pinkie Pie came between them, and Paradise could only scream for help as the shadow of her human friend being murdered before her eyes was cast upon her, and as the last light went out, she remembered the chilling words of the pink pony;_

_"Why?" Paradise screamed. "Why have you done this to us? We... we're friends!"_

_"We are not friends... we will never be friends. Our only desire is to make everything that ever existed part of our herd... so that no one will ever want anything else, they won't be able to turn away from us ever again! But we can't do that unless any imperfection before us is erased. You're so silly that you loved and cared for a human, it is the humans that will soon love and care for US!" The other main ponies soon joined her, and Paradise looked upon the six with horror. "Soon, all the human world will live for are our sweet, smiling faces... and any who resist or stand in our way will be destroyed. We are perfect in every way... and soon, no one will disagree."_

My eyes were wide as I heard the poor creature's tale. "I... I'm so sorry... so sorry this happened to you..." I slumped against the cavern wall, running a hand through my hair.

"That... man, that is screwed up..." Rafael breathed in disbelief.

Ralph hugged Rosie to her as she cried quietly, and Felix was the only one who dared to approach closer. He took Paradise's hoof into his hand. "Your story won't go untold, m'am. We're going to make sure everyone knows the truth."

I stood to my feet. "They've destroyed everyone's home world like they have yours. We're going to destroy them, and we will make sure your loved ones will be avenged."

"Beware, miss..." Morning Glory spoke to me quietly, shakily getting to her feet. "They are not what they seem... they... will destroy everything you love..."

Rayne narrowed her eyes as she watched the scene play before her, turning away as she glanced at the ground. Ralph began to scoop the small creatures into his arms, and they knew that once Mickey heard their tale, that he would finally realize the severity of the situation.

He would realize that the humans should be the last thing he should be worrying about.

* * *

**Well, that was something! Certainly puts things into perspective, and now our friends may have a chance to all work together to stop this new, powerful enemy! Will Mickey set aside his prejudice against humans for the greater good? Find out next time, and thanks again for reading!**


	14. A Turning Direction

**As the title of this chapter suggests, the time for running and hiding is coming to an end, and the time for action to be taken is quickly approaching. Our heroes are now returning to Mickey with the ammunition they need, so will Mickey use HIS ammunition for the right reasons, and against his true enemies? Read, my dear readers, and see! Thank you again for your support, and enjoy! :D**

* * *

Turbo's eyes glowed as we began to head out of the cave, slowly looking up at me as he took my hand in his. "Are you going to be okay...?" He asked. "That was... a lot to handle."

I took a breath, nodding. "I'll be fine." My expression was hard; what the ponies were doing were heartless enough, but this? To murder their own kind? This was despicable.

Rayne walked, not floated, in deep thought. King Candy noticed this, gravitating towards her.

"Stho... that're you thinking about?" He asked.

She glanced over at him, her own eyes glowing in the dark as well. "If you're curious... I suppose I can tell you." She narrowed her eyes a bit. "But first... why did you embrace the girl?"

"The girl? What're you talking about?" King Candy tilted his head.

"Vanellope. You two were enemies."

"No... I never hated her. I never hated any of the Sugar Rush ratherth... but... in the end, they all hated me. Becauth of thomething I never even did."

"Hm... so why do you think she confided in you earlier... if she hates you so much?"

King Candy furrowed his brows in deep thought. "Well, becauthe she wath scared..."

Rayne nodded. "So... perhaps she confided in her enemy... because something far scarier threatened to harm her?" She raised a brow.

"I... thuppoth..." King Candy looked up at her for a few moments, before smiling lopsidedly. "Your eyeth are even more beautiful in the dark..."

Rayne cleared her throat, hissing as she whipped her head forward. "Don't stare at me!"

Rosie looked up at Ralph, staying close to hirm. "Ralph... I never thought that I would ever see anything like this... do you think... that this all has some meaning?"

"Huh?" Ralph asked her. "Meaning?"

"That... this is supposed to happen for some greater reason? What... what reason could there be for this to happen? What were we all put here for if this is how it will all end up?" She asked shakily.

Ralph stopped, bending down so she could see him better. "Now you listen, Rosie..." Ralph held the ponies in one arm, and drew Rosie close to him with the other. "We were not created to end up like this. I know we weren't. We're all going to protect each other, and we will figure something out, together. As long as we have each other and we remember all the good reasons to fight, nothing can stop us."

Rosie smiled lightly, hugging Ralph close. He smiled, scooping her up as they continued out. When they reached the outside, they stood there baffled as they came upon a very interesting conversation underway.

"Gawrsh, this is so confusing. So why can't I go in there now?" Goofy scratched his head.

Zim pulled on his bottom lip with his hands, stomping his feet. "LISTEN TO ME, YOU POOP DOG!" He screamed. "I was commanded by the tall human to guard this cave, no one can enter or the almighty Zim won't get praises! So go back to your filthy hole before I lay eggs in you, I mean it! It's bad enough I lost my STUPID robot when he mistook a rock for a burrito!"

Goofy blinked. "You sure are angry a lot... g'hyuk! You remind me of my friend Donald!"

"STOP TALKING!" Zim screamed, about to vaporize Goofy when I cleared my throat.

"Zim, I think we'll take it from here." I walked up to Goofy.

"Hey, you're the human! Mickey's awful mad, he's lookin' for ya!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Goofy, listen to me. We need Mickey's help. We found something in this cave that can help in the fight against the ponies. If you ask for Mickey to listen to us and vouch for us, I'd be extremely grateful." I said.

Goofy rubbed his chin in- for him- deep thought. "Well, you don't seem like anything Mickey said you would be..."

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, Mickey told me all this stuff about humans, how bad they are... but, you're a human, and you seem pretty nice! G'hyuk!"

Rayne rolled her eyes, rubbing her temples. "Good grief..."

I smiled lightly. "Thank you. So... will you help us?"

"Sure! I'll take you to Mickey and I'll tell him you're not horrible after all!" Goofy exclaimed.

Rafael stood there, shaking his head. "I swear, if I'm not on drugs..."

* * *

Mickey was waiting with the other overseers and Oswald, sighing as he inspected the cage we broke out of. "Someone assisted them, helped them escape." Mickey deduced. "Dirk, any sign of Goofy? He's been gone for a while... I hope he didn't get himself into trouble."

Dirk pursed his lips, glancing from side to side. "No sign of him yet, Mickey..." He then blinked when he saw something in the distance. "Wait, that may be him!"

Mickey gasped. "TV Guy, can you zoom in on him?"

TV Guy nodded, turning his dials a bit and Mickey looked at his face, seeing that not only was Goofy approaching... but he was accompanied by Rafael and I, Rayne, King Candy, Turbo, Ralph and Rosie, Felix and Calhoun, Vanellope, and Zim.

"What is Zim doing with them...?" Oswald asked to himself. "That guy is weird..."

Mickey took a step forward once we reached him. "Good job, Goofy. I didn't expect you to actually bring them back with you, I'm... shocked, actually. I only sent you to find where they were."

"Gawrsh Mickey, we were wrong about those humans... they're not so bad after all! They're pretty nice! In fact, they said they found something that could help us!" Goofy exclaimed.

Mickey facepalmed himself. "Goofy, they're just being nice to TRICK you! Don't you know when you're being deceived? Oh, never mind I even asked... just get back with the others, I'll handle this."

"Oh yeah, like you've done a fabulous job of handling everything else, this should be a cinch!" Oswald commented.

"Goofy isn't lying." I said, taking a step forward. "We found something in the-"

"I, found something." Rayne interrupted, before turning to Mickey. "Pleasure, by the way."

I rolled my eyes before continuing. "Okay, RAYNE, found something in the cave back that way, that could serve as a great help to us all to fight the ponies. They have a side of this story that needs to be heard by everyone. But you have to compromise with us. If you don't, you will never be able to defeat them, I can assure you that." I said.

"You think that making a deal is going to change my mind?" Mickey said. "I have hundreds of citizens to protect!"

Oswald growled, going up to the mouse and shaking him. "You are SO stubborn, you stupid rat!" He shouted. "Who CARES if they're human, they're TRYING to help us! You're gonna turn them away just like everyone else because they aren't a part of your happy-go-lucky group? Just shut up for once in your life and let someone else run the show, for ONE second!"

Mickey stared at his brother in shock and surprise, never seeing him act this way before. He may have always been bitter, but to fight him like this? Mickey silently turned back to us, clearing his throat.

"Oswald is right." Goku added. "We need all the help we can get, human or not. If they posed some kind of true threat to us, then I would understand your concern. They are offering something that may assist us. We should see what they have."

Mickey nodded and looked up at me. "Show us what you have."

"Just a moment, now..." Rayne floated forward a bit. "How do I know you're not going to just lock us all up after we tell you everything for committing treason? You give us your word, and we'll start talking."

Goku narrowed his eyes. "Who are you to speak that way to us? Do you know who we are?"

"Oh, but I do, Goku. But you have no idea who I am... not a single clue." She grinned, returning her gaze to Mickey. "Your word, mister mouse."

Mickey narrowed his eyes. He had heard about her briefly when she had caused chaos in the arcade some time ago. He was well aware she was force to be reckoned with, and was beginning to see this with his own eyes. He sighed lightly before nodding. "Very well, you have my word. Now, show me what you have to offer."

"Excellent." Rayne nodded as she floated aside, allowing Ralph to step forward and place the four ponies from the cave down as gently as possible.

"The generation one ponies..." Oswald tilted his head. "I haven't seen you for some time now... you know, why aren't YOU helping the other ponies take over?"

Paradise stood shakily. "Because... they are not like us. They... there is something very bad about them." She shuttered as she remembered that fateful day, and Pinkie Pie staring down at her, not a single ounce of remorse for her predecessors as they were attacked. "They seem very sweet, and loving and kind, but we have seen their true colors... and they aren't beautiful like their manes..."

Mickey took a step forward. "How so? How do you know that someone isn't behind all this, possibly controlling them?"

Paradise motioned Morning Glory to come forward, and she sobbed lightly as she dragged Meghan's skeleton forward, weeping over it. "This is what they did not long after they first arrived in Hubville. When they came, they called the other ponies from their generation to come and attack us. When they left, they left the rest of us to die... not one sea pony was alive after the first week... the pegusi didn't survive long either, for the others broke or tore away their beautiful wings... the unicorn's horns were broken, they couldn't make magic... we all starved and died away..."

Zim was wiping tears from his eyes, and Goofy handed him a tissue, but when Zim realized someone saw him crying, he flailed his hands and swatted him away. "I just got a... a moose in my eye! I don't need that!"

Mickey seemed deeply troubled by the generation one pony's tale, and Oswald was shocked.

"I had no idea this had happened... no one really went in that cave because we knew you were all inhabiting it. If you had come to me, I could have saved more of you." Oswald frowned.

"We were too weak... there was no way we would have made it out without collapsing from exhaustion..." Morning Glory said quietly.

"Ralph, bring them to the main gathering, have them tended to and nourished." Mickey said. Ralph nodded, gently picking the four ponies up and carrying them to where they could rest and recover.

"Mickey..." I started, approaching him. "I know that you dislike humans, and why. In many ways, you're right about them. But there's always good and evil everywhere. And if we work together, we can save both our worlds, together, we can have a chance to fight them. Please... accept my help."

The mouse turned around, thinking of his family and loved ones... his Minnie. He would do anything to protect her. He looked up at me, taking my hand to shake it lightly. "I'll accept your help... we... we'll work together."

"Finally!" Turbo threw his arms up. "Now, can we all just relax for a bit without being locked up or chased or kidnapped for five minutes?!"

* * *

We returned with them to speak to Mickey and make plans for a counter attack. But first, we needed to be aware of what was happening in both worlds in order to plan properly.

"PRAISE ME!" Zim screamed.

Rayne grit her teeth, having to deal with Zim's sudden outbursts for some time now. She was about to strangle the life out of the green alien when I rolled my eyes, getting down on my knees. "Oh, almighty Zim! You have done your job valiently, let me bow to you in gratitude!" I bowed a few times, and Rafael was doubling over in laughter, Vanellope leaning against his leg, also doubled over in giggles. Calhoun had a weirded out look, and Turbo just stared, bewildered.

"Maybe I should ask her to do that for me..." Turbo said to himself.

"Alright, enough fooling around!" Goku shouted, glowing a bit. "Discussions will go underway NOW!"

I straightened up, dusting myself off. "Okay, no that that's out of the way... Mickey. Can you explain how this all started, exactly?"

Mickey nodded. "I'll give you a summary. It began when humans had found a way to come into contact with cartoonverse. According to what Hub deduced, the ponies immediately made themselves known to the humans and made sure they established immediate contact, and continued to maintain talks with the humans until they were welcomed with open arms into the human world. While this was happening, they were secretly building factories in Hubville that were producing great numbers of their pony kind as an accelerated rate, thereby creating giant numbers enough to invade every single province in cartoonverse. Now, the only thing I know about the real world is based on what Chip and Dale reported back to me, that the human race had bent to the ponies's will somehow... exactly how this was done, I'm not sure."

I nodded. "Now that part I can fill you in on. Based on what I know, I think that they put something... either some substance, or magic, or enchantment... into the baked goods products in my world so that whomever ate it was put under their control."

"Huh..." Mickey raised his brows. "Well, it must only work on humans... if it worked on toons, they could have just done that to all of us instead of trying to drive us all out."

"Well, that's a relief..." I breathed.

"But here's the weird thing." Rafael spoke up. "Kara had eaten some of the bad cookie pony magic stuff, she and King Candy had made it. King Candy ate some, didn't do anything to him. But when Kara ate it... she didn't become like the others. It made her sick, really sick. She was throwing up really bad. It's like her body rejected it, and that's why we were being chased, because it was like Kara had some kind of resistance to it."

"Is that so?" Mickey looked from me back to Rafael. "Did it have the same effect on you?"

"Oh, I didn't even want to risk trying that crap. I have no idea." Rafa replied.

"I see..." Mickey nodded. "Alright. We now know both sides of the story. We have to plan what we must do now to stop them. We will need to have forces both here AND in the real world in order to stop them."

Rayne took a step forward, pondering a moment, as well as Calhoun. "Okay." Calhoun started. "We're going to need to do some spy work before we can make battle plans. We're not going to stop them unless we demobilize those factories in Hubville. We need to know exactly what we're dealing with here."

Mickey nodded. "Good point. But Hub said the place is heavily guarded, it will be hard to get a good layout without being caught."

Rayne raised a hand. "I managed to order a game console, create an entire game, blend in with the entire arcade without suspicion, and almost took over the entire place all under Surge Protector's nose... leave the stealthiness to me."

"Yes..." Mickey wasn't particularly happy with her supposed accomplishment. "But you will still need Hub to guide you, being he is the only one we have from the province, he is the only one who can guide you through it."

"Very well." Rayne glanced over to the floating sphere, smirking a bit. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun together."

Hub chuckled nervously, gulping. King Candy pouted a bit, slightly jealous that Hub got to spend precious time with the apple of his eye.

"What about the real world?" I asked.

"That will be difficult... we'll have to figure out what we're fighting against, and where exactly to begin." Mickey replied.

"When I'm finished lurking around Hubville, Kara and I can go to the real world and get an idea of what forces await there." Rayne replied.

I looked at her. "You... and me?"

Rayne smirked a bit at me. "Yes... we'll discuss some things there while we conduct the search."

I cleared my throat. "Fine, sure."

Rayne nodded, looking to Hub. "Well, let's get moving then, shall we? Now or never." As she turned to leave, she felt a light tugging on her arm, whipping around to bare her teeth at whomever touched her. King Candy jumped back a bit, clearing his throat.

"Boy, he really likes to play with fire, doesn't he...?" Ralph commented.

"What do you want?!" Rayne snapped at him.

"I... I jutht wanted to thay... be careful." King Candy replied, looking up at her bashfully.

She rolled her eyes. "And why would you be concerned as to what happens to me, besides the fact that I am a huge asset to this side of the playing board?"

King Candy blushed a bit, smiling at her. "Becauthe I... I care about you."

Rayne was taken aback, raising a brow in surprise. Even she could sense the genuineness in his words. "Don't be ridiculous. This isn't the time for emotions like this. Besides, I'm the last person you should care about... because I certainly don't care what happens to any of you." She turned, tuning King Candy's voice out as she floated with Hub to the edge of cancelville.

* * *

Rayne slithered like a snake in her 2D form as Hub floated near her, leading the way to Hubville. Once there, as they had discussed with themselves, he would pose as a distraction while she mapped out the place to report to the others upon their return. Just outside the province, the swarms were even larger, and Rayne looked up at Hub, as if she were sticking her head out of water.

"You know what to do. Sweet talk the sugar coated beasts while I do my work. Don't let them on to anything and this should go smoothly. Understand?" Rayne said.

"Yeah... this should be a piece of cake..." Hub said to her as she slinked back down, fully 2D again as she slithered forth. "I am so dead..." He whined to himself.

He lost sight of Rayne, wondering if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Hub looked all around, a bit horrified at the large swarms of ponies either prancing or flying around, a sea of high pitched, spine chilling giggling rippling through the air. When he turned around to continue forward, he gasped when Pinkie Pie was right in front of him, scared half to death.

"Hi there, Hub!" Pinkie giggled. "Didn't think I'd see YOU here!"

"Oh, Pinkie... I... I'm glad to see you're doing well." Hub replied.

"And why wouldn't I be doing well, hmmm?" She asked, circling around him.

"I, I didn't mean that... it's just... it's been some time since I've seen you."

"Yeah... where have you been anyway, Hub? I thought you liked us..."

Hub gulped, trying to quickly come up with an answer to her question.

Meanwhile, Rayne slithered into Hubville, past all of their lines of defense, completely undetected. She narrowed her eyes, quickly scanning the place; it was filled to the brim with ponies, some even walking right on her without realizing it. The factories were all joined together to make one large, single unit, and Rayne rolled her eyes. It was going to take about a month to get through the whole thing... but she knew she had no time to gripe, continuing on to mentally record the layout of the giant facility, pumping out dozens of ponies per second. She found an air vent nearby, smirking to herself as she slinked up the wall, slipping into it.

Little did she know that on her way up the wall, she had been spotted.

"Well...?" Pinkie asked Hub. "What's the matter, horseshoe stuck on your tongue?"

Hub cleared his throat. "Listen, Pinkie... I'm going to be honest with you... because, well... I care about you. I took a big hit for you guys, see, the other overseers were giving me a hard time, I had to tell them it was my fault, that I caused this. It... would have broken my heart to see them keeping you hostage and interrogating you like they did to me... b- but I didn't tell them anything, I swear... I... I stayed loyal to you." He smiled nervously.

Pinkie tilted her head, smiling sweetly at him. "Aww, Hub! I knew you were still our friend! Once a part of the herd, always a part of the herd, right?"

"O- Oh, of course!" Hub nodded.

Pinkie put a hoof around the floating sphere. "Come on, buddy! Let me show you all the upgrades I've done!" She led him to the facility grounds, buzzing with ponies chattering and moving in a chaotic fashion.

Rayne maneuvered through the many rooms of the factory quickly, mentally mapping out the place. She took note of the size of the rooms, the machinery, the equipment, and any entrances or exits and what they entailed; security systems, locks, anything that could be used as a weapon or defense mechanisms, her eyes darted, scaling and analyzing everything. However, as she did so, a certain rainbow colored pegusi narrowed her eyes, chuckling darkly as she followed the black shape moving along the ground, thin as paper. Rayne moved as speedily as possible, for she had a lot of ground to cover. When she reached a- miraculously, quieter area of the factory; a cafeteria, she became three dimensional, exhaling deeply as she stayed behind a wall. It was hard for her to stay two dimensional for this long, so she took a moment to breathe before continuing on her mission. As she was about to continue forth, she gasped as she was forcefully knocked forward, grunting as she wriggled, trying to flip over onto her back to see her attacker. Rainbowdash was fast though, grabbing a mouthful of Rayne's hair and dragging her over to a barrel of water filled with apples, dunking Rayne's head into it.

"Huh, I heard rumors that you were supposed to be REALLY powerful... some powerful human you are! you may be able to resist our spell to make you one of the herd, but you can't fight us!" Rainbowdash shouted. She grabbed a carving knife, grinning darkly. "Say goodbye, stupid human..." She lifted it into the air, about to stab Rayne in the head. However, this was interrupted when Rayne's hands, which were gripping the barrel, crushed it, water splashing everywhere and covering the floor. She threw her head back, emitting an inhuman shriek as her eyes burned with fury, groping at the pony clinging to her back. Rainbowdash gasped, hissing then the carving knife was dropped, clanging to the ground. Rayne grabbed her mane, flipping her off and crouching down low, whipping her head up so the pegusi could see her face clearly, baring her teeth, her black, wet hair clinging to the sides of her face.

"You are greatly mistaken, filthy beast..." Rayne spoke in dual voices, her aura glowing around her in red mist. "I am not the human you take me for... I am something far, far worse." The carving knife levitated, soaring through the air, its target right between Rainbowdash's eyes. However, this was the speedy one of the ponies, and she quickly moved out of the way, the knife embedding itself into the wall. Before Rainbowdash could pursue Rayne again, she became 2D again, slithering about the room, but her voice still echoed.

"Don't fret, wretched thing... we will meet again, when the time is right. For now, I have business to attend to... I will have the pleasure of ending your wicked life at a later time..." Rayne said before exiting the room. She had to finish quickly and get back to Hub.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie continued to speak with Hub in a meeting room within the facility. As they spoke, the door suddenly burst open, and Rainbowdash flipped some wet hair out of her face.

"Pinkie, we have a serious problem." She said.

"Oh, now now, Rainbowdash, can't you see we have a guest?" Pinkie giggled.

Rainbowdash looked to Hub, narrowing her eyes. "It seems our 'guest' didn't come alone..." She narrowed her eyes. "Someone is spying in the factory... I tried to get her, but she got away. She's got powers I couldn't keep up with!"

The corner of Pinkie's lip twitched, smiling a bit. "Really? Well then... Rainbowdash... go back out, and find the intruder. Bring a search team with you. I'll stay here and continue my little chat... with Hub."

"Okay." Rainbowdash said before zipping out of the room.

As Pinkie turned, her pupils shrunk, her curls unfurling into pin straight locks, her smile having gone from sweet and sugary to frightening, growing so wide she threatened to stretch her face to its limits. Hub realized the jig was up, and the floating sphere cowered in fear as Pinkie loomed over him.

* * *

**Oh my! Is this the end of Hub? Will Rayne be able to search the rest of the factory, save Hub AND save herself? Will she be caught in the process? Find out next time and more in this exciting adventure! Don't forget to review! :D**


	15. A Dangerous Mission

**Hello again readers! Last time we left Hub and Rayne in a sticky situation and scrambling for an escape plan! Now you will see what happens and much more in this chapter! Once again, please enjoy and thank you for reading! :D**

* * *

Rayne slithered along the ground, having scanned the rest of the facility. She noticed some commotion up ahead, and she knew if she was sighted again, it would not be pretty. She had to execute this carefully, and think on her toes. When she caught sight of Rainbowdash, she knew what she had to do, but it would be difficult.

"Rainbowdash is the fastest of all of them... if I can get her isolated, then this should work." Rayne said to herself.

She moved faster, making sure to maneuver past other ponies undetected, but when she came near the pegusi in question, she reached up, the top half of her body three dimensional as she tugged on Rainbowdash's mane. The pegusi gasped and whirled around, and Rayne snickered as she reverted back to 2D form, speedily slithering away.

"After her!" Rainbowdash shouted to the search party, but she was way ahead of them, all going according to Rayne's plan. She turned a sharp corner, and the pegusi nearly slid past it as she pursued the black shape on the ground. When it came to a dead end, and Rainbowdash saw no sign of Rayne, she grit her teeth a bit in frustration. "Now I KNOW I saw her go down here..." It was quite dark, no lighting in this short corridor. Behind the pegusi, a dark shadow grew on the wall, and the shadow stepped onto the floor, silent as night. Rayne grinned wickedly, her crimson eyes burning as she crept forward, her hands wide open, as if she were about to snatch the pony. Before Rainbowdash even knew what was coming, Rayne dove in, red mist glowing as she seemed to disappear into the pony, who began to writhe and gasp for air. When she opened her eyes, they were crimson.

Meanwhile, Hub had floated back so much he felt the cold wall against his back. "P- Pinkie... listen to me, please... I... whatever is happening out there is totally unrelated to me..."

"I thought we were friends, Hub... you know, if this is how you're going to be... then I'm afraid you will have to just kick the bucket!" Pinkie Pie said as she inched closer, and Hub whimpered as her normally sweet expression was twisting into something far darker, far scarier. She began to open her mouth, closing in on the poor sphere when his impending doom was interrupted by a voice.

"Pinkie, I called off the search party. I took care of the little... problem."

In an instant, Pinkie reverted back to her sweet self, turning and giggling. "Oh, is that so? Wonderful! Thank you so much!"

"I'll take care of Hub now. I'm sure you're busy."

"Well, alright... being you did all that work, I guess you deserve it!" Pinkie waved at Hub. "Nice knowing you, old friend!"

"N- No, please, I didn't- Pinkie, please!" Hub screamed as he was dragged away by Rainbowdash. As they made their way, Hub knew that this was the end for him. He closed his eyes, but then looked around in surprise when he was dropped, looking up at Rainbowdash. Before he could say anything, her eyes rolled up and she fainted as something exited her, materializing before him. "R- Rayne?! You were... how did you-"

"Come on, let's get out of here. I got what I needed, so we need to go before we're caught. She won't be unconscious for long." Rayne cut him off.

Hub nodded, and the two hurried together out of the facility, Rayne moving in 2D form until they reached the edge of cancelville, returning to her 3D form.

"What happened back there?" Hub asked.

"I ran into a bit of a problem. It seems I was spotted by miss rainbows and sunshine back there. There was a bit of a struggle, and then I had to control her to get us out of there." Rayne sighed. "It takes a lot out of me, being I only got my powers back recently."

"Oh... well, did you get everything you needed?"

"Yes. I saw more than enough back there that can help us. We need to hurry back. The more time passes, the stronger they get."

* * *

I scanned the border, squinting my eyes a bit.

"Do you think they'll make it?" Rafa asked, standing next to me.

"Well, she's managed to beat death twice, why not a third time?" Turbo commented.

"Wait, I see something..." I turned to TV Guy who was standing with us, and he zoomed in on what I saw. "It's them, they're back!"

Rayne scoffed as she approached me. "Of COURSE I'm back, stupid girl..." She shrugged her shoulder a bit. "I managed to come back after being decapitated and then after burning to bone in a pit full of acid... this was nothing." She said before she strode past me.

"Well, hello to you too..." I rolled my eyes, sighing as I followed her to a flat, wide stone that the overseers were using as a meeting table.

Mickey looked up when she and Hub approached the overseers. "Did you find what you needed to?"

"Yes. Do you have a large sheet of paper, a scroll or parchment, perhaps?" Rayne replied.

King Candy had been sitting with the others, when he looked up, smiling when he saw Rayne was back. He was about to go to her, when Vanellope stopped him.

"You know, you're gonna get your butt fried if you keep bothering her." She warned, before glancing to the side.

King Candy blinked. "Well... I gueth I'll have to sthick thome graham crackerth back there and make thmoreth, huh?" He chuckled.

Vanellope smiled a bit. "You know, you're not so bad. I guess I always didn't like you because you were-"

"I know." King Candy frowned lightly. "Thometimeth, the inthide ith different than what'th outhide. That may have been me you thaw, but, it wathn't... thometimeth you thee thomething, but it ithn't what it theemth."

The small racer nodded. "Yeah... you're really nice. You deserve someone nice, too."

King Candy smiled lightly as he watched Rayne. "There'th jutht thomething about her... I know she'th done really bad thingth, but... thometimeth, when I eat a thour candy, it'th awful, jutht awful, and I athk mythelf, why in gobth did I do that? I almotht want to thpit it out!" He threw his arms out, making Vanellope giggle. "But then... right at the very thenter, jutht one little drop of the thweetetht of thingth maketh my tathte budth tingle!" He calmed a bit, still smiling. "I think there'th a treasure hiding in her thomewhere... it'th jutht that no one hath tried hard enough to find it yet."

Vanellope tilted her head. "So if you like her... then why do you still hate Turbo?"

"I hated what that monthter made me do... it was cruel, and wrong."

"It was..." Vanellope replied. "But he HAS changed, King Candy. He's helped save us, and even saved me. He cares about us now, and he really cares about Kara... kind of like you really care about Rayne."

"Tho why ith it wrong for me to like her, then? If Kara could like him..."

Vanellope shrugged. "Some people never change... or, for some, it's harder than others. Something keeps them from changing..."

Rayne nodded as Nick laid down a large sheet of paper, dusting off some of his goo and wordlessly making an apologetic gesture before stepping back. Rayne rolled her eyes, before stepping forward, closing her eyes as she waved a hand over the parchment. Suddenly, lines and words began to appear as the entire factory layout within Hubville was materialized before them. "Here... this is pretty much the general layout, and in the more significant areas I listed what machinery and equipment it entails. I also included notes on the back... they don't really have a vast selection or number of weaponry... they just... use themselves, really."

Mickey looked over the parchment, nodding. "This will do... this will be very helpful." He gave Rayne a nod. "Now we can choose a party and decide how we'll carry this out."

"I'll help you with that." Rafael spoke up, taking a step forward.

I looked at him, wide eyed. "Rafael, you are NOT going to go there! It's a death trap!"

"Kara, listen to me!" He put his hands on my shoulders. "This is what I've spent 99% of my life doing, I've played possibly hundreds of games where I have to go on secret missions and blow stuff up, this is like second nature to me. This is what I want to do. I'm not just going to stand around like a log."

"Rafa, don't be ridiculous! Playing a game is far different than doing something for real!"

He smiled. "Kara, you're gonna be going back to the real world and risk your life just as much as I will be... you possibly even more. Don't worry about me. I'm gonna be with some of the best video game characters on the market. I know all their stats, attacks, strengths and weaknesses, you know that. What better for me to help them out?"

I felt a lump forming in my throat, tearing up as I hugged him tight. "You've always been there for me when times got tough."

He hugged back. "I always tell you to just relax..."

Characters from all backgrounds watched the scene played before them, and realized in that moment that we, as humans, shared the same emotions of love, fear, care and concern as they did from each other. They also realized in that moment that it was characters, the ponies, that had proved to be as heartless as they had believed humans were. As Rafa and I hugged, a soft glow emitted from me.

Maybe... just maybe... we weren't so different after all.

A short time later, Rayne and I prepared to make the trip into the real world as the others wished me a safe journey.

"Be careful out there... are you sure you don't want me to come with you? I can pound anyone who tries to hurt you." Ralph said, smacking one fist into his palm.

I smiled. "No thank you, I'll be just fine." As I turned to join Rayne, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Just... whatever is waiting there... know that we're behind you. We'll always be behind you." Calhoun said.

"Thanks, Tamora." I smiled, but then I was suddenly pulled into a hug, and I chuckled lightly as I hugged her back. Soon, the others joined in a group hug. Rayne watched silently, narrowing her eyes and glancing away. "I'll be back soon, alright?" I said goodbye, going over to Rayne and we held hands, much to her displeasure, as she pressed the button on the device. We disappeared in a wink.

* * *

When Rayne and I arrived, she quickly scanned the immediate area for anyone nearby. We were standing in the small field just by the main road, down the street from the post office. There were no cars to be seen, nor people. It was eerily quiet.

"Come on. We need to get away from the main road." I said as we headed down the boulevard, past the two outpatient facility houses of the former psych center, the only part that was actually still up and running. We headed down the boulevard, until we reached the old, rusting flag pole, right in the center of the road on a patch of grass.

"So... what exactly are we going to do here again?" Rayne asked.

"We need to find out what we're up against... and then figure out a place to set up so we can prepare for battle." I replied.

"There is also one other thing you're missing." Rayne glanced back at me.

"What's that?" I tilted my head.

"You need to be able to fight."

"I... can fight..."

"Not without the use of your powers... or this enemy will be beyond you."

"But Rayne, you know that I can't use my powers in the r-"

She was upon me in an instant, her hand at my throat. I looked up at her, panicked, my eyes wide.

"I could do it, you know... I could end you right here, right now, and all I'd have to say is that one of the ponies got to you, or one of the humans under their control... it would be my word against theirs because there are no witnesses. If you are helpless here, than why would we need you, anyway?" I gulped thickly, inhaling sharply as I stared at Rayne. "Oh... that's right... because then all your silly little friends would weep over you. You see? This is why you all need my help. Because you are all held back by protecting your loved ones. You can never truly live without fear as long as you love."

"But Rayne... the ones we love... give us a reason to fight!" I squeaked out, and I grunted as Rayne threw me down to the ground.

"Then FIGHT!" She screamed at me, baring her teeth. "You have the power, use it, you stupid girl! Why must you always doubt yourself when you know you have the power?! Why do you constantly let others take it from you, you give it away! All our lives, that's all you've done!" She narrowed her eyes. "Get up. Get up NOW!"

_"Why do you let it control you...?" Rayne said as she walked over to me, writhing on the ground._

_"It's... more powerful than me..." I whimpered._

_Rayne smirked, holding the queen piece off the chess board she had been sitting at. "There is only one who has all the power. It is stronger than you because you are allowing it to use your strength. You must fight not the ghost possessing you, but the doubt within your own mind."_

_I struggled, reaching for the queen piece as Rayne snatched it up, holding it farther away.__  
_

Rayne reared her hand back, about to strike down upon me, but I reached a hand out, screaming as I caught her hand in mine. I grit my teeth, squeezing my eyes shut as I emitted a louder scream, struggling to hold her back. I opened my eyes as her other hand came down to strike me, and I held my other hand out.

I had not grabbed it, but it somehow seemed she was struggling to get past a resistance. Rayne widened her eyes a bit in surprise, and I slowly got one foot firmly planted on the ground, then the other, slowly standing up as I held both my hands up, and Rayne struggled to move closer to me, something keeping her back. I breathed shakily, gritting my teeth as I moved my hands forward, pushing her back more. Rayne glared darkly at me, baring her teeth as finally, she felt the flagpole at her back, and I gasped as I realized I had pushed her back several feet without even touching her.

I had done it. I used my powers in the real world.

Rayne took a step forward as I looked at my hands, her glare turning into a smirk. "Now... you are ready."

* * *

Mickey stood with the other overseers. "Now, the rest of you will join the others in the fight in the real world... we can't risk all of you being separated from your citizens, so only Hub and I will be going with the human- er, Rafael, to demobilize their factory. Once that's done, and depending on what's happening in the real world, the remaining ponies here will have to decide if it's more effective to attempt rebuilding a factory or joining the battle in the real world. Now Hub, do you have any idea how long it took for the ponies to gather all these supplies?"

"Well, they took and stored supplies over the course of many months, from what I know. So if we destroy something that big, they won't be able to rebuild it during the course of the battle. Although, they may be able to build a smaller one... there's so many..." Hub replied.

Mickey tapped his chin. "We'll have to come up with some kind of way to make sure the remaining ponies in the other provinces won't try to rebuild a factory here... but if we send them all to the real world somehow, it may overwhelm our forces there."

"Alright." Rafael started. "We're going to need a team to go in and destroy the factory before we worry about the other ponies..."

"Who would you recommend to be on our team?" Mickey asked. "They can be taken out of the ranks set to go to the real world and help us here instead."

Rafael thought for a few moments, thinking back to the countless video games he played and what characters suited this mission best. "Okay... I'm gonna need... Adam Jensen, Raiden and Samuel Rodriguez, Marcus Fenix, Gordan Freeman, Booker Dewitt, Rex, Elizabeth, Commander Shepherd, Alex Mercer, Cole McGrath, Veronica, Jacket, Biker, Samos Aran, S.H.O.D.A.N., Cloud, Ezio Auditore, Frank West, Chris and Claire Redfield, Kratos, Dante and Vergil. They're from the games Deux Ex, Metal Gear Rising, Bioshock Infinite, Half Life, Mass Effect, Prototype, Infamous, New Vegas, Hotline Miami, Metroid, System Shock, FF7, Assassin's Creed 2, Dead Rising, Resident Evil, God of War and Devil May Cry."

Mickey raised his brows. "Golly... you really are an expert at knowing video game characters..."

Rafael shrugged. "Nothing to it, really."

Mickey nodded, making notes for himself. "Very well, they will be included in our team; I trust you know their skills and fighting techniques, at least, better than I do..."

"Yup." Rafael nodded.

"So after we demobilize the factory, we need to take care of all the other ponies building communities in our former provinces... how should we-" Mickey started.

"Just keep going. Don't stop." Rafael replied.

Mickey blinked, looking up at him. "Don't stop?"

"No. We can't stop until every one of those little multicolored abominations bites the dust. Just take our team in one province at a time, and destroy their forces." Rafael advised.

Mickey nodded slowly, tilting his head at Rafa. "You're pretty straight forward, huh?"

"Yup, that's me." He smiled, and Mickey smiled back.

* * *

I wandered around the psych center buildings alone; Rayne had taken to finding what she could of our enemy forces, as she was the faster moving of the two of us. As I did so, I inhaled the air, fresh, but around the buildings, it was mixed with a dankness, as if the death and decay from them were fighting to stretch to the outside, radiate beyond the brick walls. I returned to the spot where I had first met Turbo, this chance encounter bringing us together and throwing us into a journey where I would pick up the pieces of my broken, shattered life, renewing my mind and body so that I could cross beyond the horizon into a new world, finding my true strength and forming everlasting bonds. Everything that began at this very point, at that very moment, had led up to this, had made a full circle, and I stood here, far different than I was that day. Vanished was the barrier between the real world and the cartoonverse, vanished was the barrier that limited evil to do its bidding, vanished was the barrier that the forces of good would take to destroy that evil.

Vanished... was the barrier I had always made for myself, stopping me from taking hold of all the strength in me.

I heard a soft whooshing behind me, and I turned to see Rayne behind me, a serious expression in her eyes.

"So...? What did you find?" I asked.

"A lot." Rayne replied. "And it is very, very ugly."

I furrowed my brows. "It's... that bad...?"

"How many people are in the world?"

"Uh... a few trillion?"

"Try close to 72 trillion. And they will all fight against us. All the armies of the world."

My breath hitched, looking at my feet. "So they were all taken..."

"And that's not all. They've also got the G.I Joe team and Transformers on their side... so we've got them to worry about as well." Rayne added.

I slowly looked up at her, my expression of anxiety melting into determination. "Now we know what we're up against... come on. We have to tell the others." Rayne gave me a nod, and we linked arms. I looked up at her as she was about to press the button on the device. "And, um... Rayne?"

She glanced over at me. "Yes?"

I bit my lip for a moment. "Thank you. For earlier. I... we've been enemies for so long... that... it feels good that we're helping each other."

Rayne tilted her head a bit. "I didn't help you. You did it all on your own." She turned her head a bit more to look at me fully. "I pity you. One day, you will be faced losing all your loved ones... the day this battle begins... and you will have nothing left."

I looked up at her. "And I pity you..." I replied. "Because one day, you will realize that you've always been alone... not because you lost others... but because you were always lost to them."

Rayne pressed the button.

* * *

Turbo was wiping his helmet, sighing as he put it on his head. "Where could she be...?"

"They'll be back soon, Turbo..." Rosie said. "Don't worry so much."

"Don't worry? It's madness in the real world!"

"THE MADNESS! THE MADNEEEEEESS!" Zim cried in the back ground as he shook a small contraption in his hand, trying to get it to work so he could locate GIR.

Turbo glared at Zim for a moment, sighing. "I really hate that guy."

"Turbo, he's trying to find his friend... I think you'd be that crazy if Kara was missing." Rosie replied.

"True... but I have a feeling that guy is always somewhat like that." Turbo shrugged. "Anyway... I have every reason to worry... she's not only out there in that dangerous place, but she's there with Rayne, ALONE. I don't trust her."

"Have faith, Turbo... Kara is strong. She can do it." Rosie smiled.

Just then, Rayne and I appeared in cancelville, and Turbo hopped to his feet, running over to hug me. "Thank codes, you're safe!"

I smiled, hugging him back. "I'm fine. I just have to talk to Mickey."

"You stay here with your little boyfriend. I'll tell Mickey what he needs to know." Rayne said, before striding over to the gathering spot. Rafael came over to me when Rayne nudged him out of the way.

"Jeez, can she have a bigger chip on her shoulder?" He asked.

* * *

Rainbowdash groaned, sitting up and rubbing her forehead. It took her a few moments to realize what was going on and what had happened, and she got to her feet. She sped inside the factory, bursting through the door to where Pinkie Pie was having some tea with the other ponies of the main six.

"Pinkie, we have a huge problem!" Rainbowdash exclaimed.

"Problem?" Apple Jack tilted her head. "What kind of problem are y'all talking about?"

"The one I spotted earlier... she did something to me, I passed out and she escaped! Where is Hub?"

Pinkie blinked. "Hub? You told me you took care of the intruder problem, and then you told me YOU would handle Hub!"

Rainbowdash furrowed her brows, trying to figure out what was wrong with this story. Her eyes widened then. "Pinkie... the intruder... I saw her in the main hall and I chased her down into the west end of the factory... I lost her, and was looking for her... but then I woke up just outside... Pinkie, she did something to me! She must have... taken over me!"

Pinkie began to tremble, her curls once again falling into pin straight locks. The other ponies looked at her warily, remaining silent. "The intruder... did what...?"

Rainbowdash took a step back. "We have to find them... if we don't, they may know everything about our factory!"

Pinkie's head began to twitch. "Find them... and bring them to the real world..."

"Why not here? We can just-" Rarity started.

"Because there's no where for them to go here! They won't stay here because they won't be able to survive in cancelville!" Pinkie shrieked. "They will go to the real world, thinking they can ask the humans for help... but it's too late. All the humans belong to the herd now... and once we're through with those naughty characters, THEY will be too! They will become one with the herd or they won't be anything at all!" She looked to Rainbowdash. "Send one of the ponies out to watch from the border of cancelville... when they leave for the real world, so will we! We'll see who will be laughing then!" She began to giggle, but it slowly melted into chaotic laughter, her face stretching as she grinned frighteningly.

"Be careful, Pinkie..." Rarity said. "Don't want to mess up that pretty mane now, do you?"

* * *

Mickey stood on the flat rock, getting everyone's attention. "Alright, everyone. There is no more time to waste. We have done our planning, and we now have an idea what we're up against and how we're going to fight against this powerful foe!" He started. "Now... with Rafael and I, I will call out names who will assist us in operation discontinue the toy pony." Mickey proceeded to call out all the characters Rafa requested, and they joined him and Mickey.

Claire Redfield looked over at Cloud, clearing her throat and blushing a bit. "Hey." She said, smiling at him. "That's a neat weapon you've got... looks heavy."

Cloud shrugged. "Not really. All in the wrist."

Mickey continued. "The rest of you will be heading to the real world to prepare for battle. To my Disney citizens... I may not be with you, but I have faith that you will do all you can to save our home and the homes of all characters here in cartoonverse. I know you will make me proud, and I trust you will succeed... as I hope you trust me to succeed."

As thousands of characters cheered with determination, Felix and Calhoun looked at each other, holding each other's hand as they silently promised to protect each other. Ralph held Rosie close to him, knowing he would readily fight to the death for her. I gave Rafael a long hug, telling him to be careful and he told me to do the same, before I went back to join Turbo, linking arms as he and I braced for what was to come. One device had been left with Rafael, the other to Rayne as one by one, character after character held hands to prepare for the trip into the uncertain, and unpredictable, real world.

* * *

**It's getting close to the intense action, ladies and gents! Will our heroes be able to fight their enemies from both sides? Will they succeed? Much more to come, so if you're inching closer to the edge of your seat, this is just the beginning! Thanks again for reading and please please please review! :D A special thanks to my friend Rafael for helping me with his vast knowledge of those first person shooter video games and the like! :D**


	16. A Time To Prepare

**Prepare for another long chapter as our heros begin to gear up to fight their greatest foe! With all that's going on, will they be able to keep up? Well, let's hope you can keep up readers, so hang on tight to your seat and enjoy! Thank you for everyone who's been supporting this fic so far! :D**

* * *

Rafael watched as in a blink of an eye, thousands of characters before him disappeared the moment Rayne pressed the button. He sighed, knowing while we were doing our job out there, he had to make sure he did his here; failure was not an option. He turned to Mickey, giving him a nod.

"Well, let's get going." He said as he went to gear up. Rafael requested specific armor; a full body suit with lightweight but strong metal plates, and a built in back pack with black hole technology to store extra weapons and ammo, about five times the space of a standard back pack. On the chest armor, words in large letters read "glue maker." For his helmet, he replaced the visor over his face with a mask similar to the "anonymous" mask, equipped with a high tech screen view through the "eyes" that displayed radar, could identify targets, could switch to night vision, and displayed not only the health of the wearer but also any nearby party members. It also contained a GPS system.

Mickey narrowed his eyes, dressed in his Kingdom Hearts attire, wielding his keyblade. He took out a second one, handing it to Oswald. He hesitated, but took it from Mickey.

"Why are you giving me this?" Oswald asked.

"You need a weapon, Oswald." Mickey replied.

"No, Mickey... where did you get this from...?"

The mouse sighed lightly. "I... had an extra made... just... just in case."

Oswald tilted his head, his bunny ears flickering before shrugged it off.

Raiden finished sharpening his blade, narrowing his eyes a but as Samuel approached him.

"Never thought we'd be on the same team, huh Raiden?" Samuel smirked. "What an interesting result fate has led us to."

"Let's just see which one of dies first... then we'll see what's interesting." Raiden replied as he strode past the other cyborg.

Marcus just finished loading his gun, patting Kratos's shoulder as he walked by. "Nice makeup, man." Kratos simply stared at Marcus for a few moments, not saying anything.

Elizabeth looked around her, everyone being mostly quiet, tense, cold to one another. "This is our team? Can we at least tell a joke or something to lighten the mood?"

"We're not here because we want to be, young lady." Alex approached her, some of his black biomass spiking out of his back. "It's because we've got a bunch of little cotton candies to fry."

"Yeah, just because we have to do this together doesn't mean we have to get all mushy about it." Cole added.

Booker stood next to his daughter, narrowing his eyes. "Be careful around her, Alex. I destroyed myself in an alternate universe to keep her safe."

"Come on Adam, I don't want to make a news broadcast that you're flirting with daddy's little girl." Frank said.

"I'm not flirting with her, stupid paparazzi..." Alex spat at Frank.

As the team of video game players geared up, in the distance, right on the border of cancelville, Apple Bloom was ducked down with Scootaloo as they witnessed the thousands of other characters leave, and this remaining team getting ready for their attack.

"What are they saying?" Apple Bloom whispered loudly.

"Shut up!" Scootaloo whispered back. "Come on, we have to tell the others." She chuckled darkly. "We'll get 'em... just you watch. None of them will make it."

As Elizabeth was petting Rex, she noticed his ears perk up, growling as he started to bark. She gasped when he began to trot quickly, breaking into a run. "Guys, I think he sees something!"

Apple Bloom's eyes widened, gasping. "Scootaloo, it's heading straight for us!"

"Great! See, we've been found, we have to go!" Scootaloo said, grunting as she tried to flap her small wings to get away.

Apple Bloom furrowed her brows as she started to gallop away, but after some time, she couldn't outrun the cyborg canine as Rex snarled, his teeth sinking into her back and dragging her towards the others.

"Scootaloo, help me!" Apple Bloom cried.

Adam took out his rifle, Scootaloo flying like a fledgling reflected in his sunglasses as he aimed, firing one shot. She went down, landing harshly on the ground.

"What are you doing?!" Claire ran up to them. "Look at them, they're innocent!" She said as Apple Bloom started to cry, being pinned down by Dante.

"Claire, that's their greatest weapon." Rafael walked up to her. "That's what they want you to think. That's how they draw you in; if you don't love them, it's like you're some terrible, heartless monster, so the guilt drives you to do their bidding and you're lost."

Adam threw the now limp Scootaloo before Apple Bloom, making her cry harder.

"Talk, little harpy..." Dante commanded. "Or I'll throw you into the deepest pits of hell..."

Apple Bloom had already seen a weakness in Claire, looking up at her with huge boo boo eyes and sniffling. "Please, don't kill me... I just... I wanted to help my big sister... I didn't want to hurt anyone..."

Chris put a hand on Claire's shoulder. "Claire, don't listen to it."

Claire bent down anyway, reaching out a hand. "Just tell us why this is happening... if you cooperate, we'll let you go..."

"Oh give me a break, THIS is what we're dealing with? I could kill five of them in one shot, just break its neck and let's go already!" Biker exclaimed.

"Just wait a minute..." Jacket replied. "Maybe we can use it to get some information."

Apple Bloom smiled a bit, tilting her head as Claire took her into her arms. She then seized this opportunity, biting down on her hand hard, screeching as she broke into a run. Claire was screaming, the act of being bitten typically making her panic as Chris went to calm her. In the meantime, Alex pursued Apple Bloom, catching up with her after a few yards and pinning her down before he proceeded to absorb her organic matter, along with her knowledge, until she was nothing but a puddle of yellow and red coloring. He turned around, looking through her memories before opening his eyes.

"D-D-Did she ha-ave anything wo-orth noti-i-ing?" S.H.O.D.A.N, who sustained a floating, humanoid body, being she was outside of a computer, asked as she approached him.

"Not really... but there may be some things that could come in handy later. I'll keep them in mind. I did see that because of their recent security breach, they added a few more security features... it'll be harder to get into the heart of the factory."

Vergil turned to Claire, approaching her. "There is no room for weakness or mercy in this mission. If you cannot fight effectively, you will be left to perish to whatever the cruelty of fate brings you."

"Hey, come on, we know nothing about these things!" Chris exclaimed. "She gets it now, alright?"

"Well she had better learn quickly, or she won't make it once we cross the border line." Vergil replied.

The group began to head forward, seeking out their target with weapons sharpened, locked and loaded.

* * *

Sweetie Belle, another one of Apple Bloom's closer friends, was standing by as she waited for a response from them. She grunted, her small horn sparking a bit, but received nothing. "Apple Bloom, are you there? Scootaloo...?" She gasped when she suddenly heard a weak reply. "Wh- Who is it? Say something!"

Scootaloo groaned lightly, barely alive from when Adam had shot her down. "Sweetie... toons... left for... real world... more... coming... factory... dan-... ger..."

"Wh- What? Scootaloo? Scootaloo!" When she heard no reply, her brows furrowed deeply, and when it sunk in that both her friends had been killed, she screamed loudly.

"Sweetie Belle? What's the matter with y'all...?" Apple Jack approached her, tilting her head. "Nothing's wrong with Apple Bloom, right?"

The smaller pony turned to her, and after speaking for a few moments, they went to Pinkie Pie who was in her meeting room within the factory. When they told her the story, Pinkie began to breathe heavily, her eye twitching as she stomped her feet on the ground angrily.

"Contact the other provinces and tell them we're preparing to go to the real world!" She screeched, shoving objects and other ponies out of her way as she stormed out of the room.

* * *

Meanwhile, thousands of characters were setting up camp, shelters, equipment, and weapons on the psyche center grounds in my town in the real world. The benefit was I had gotten a map of the area and it offered plenty of space.

"How is the first assault coming?" I asked the overseers.

"Oh, they're going to scare the fur off those ponies for sure!" Jack Skellington replied; he was the secondary overseer in Disneyverse, and he oversaw all the claymation characters.

A group of some of the most qualified scientists and high tech minds were working together to make weapons and help with planning.

"Okay, this computer program analyzes each species of pony and how to best target and kill them. I also have a calculation system to determine their approximate numbers. This doesn't include the humans though." Dib said.

"Hm... that will definitely be useful." Princess Bubblegum nodded. "I've been testing a serum that when shot at a pony, it will immediately paralyze them. I still have to run a few tests..."

"I've been working on a skeleton army that will help in the fight!" Dr. Finkelstein proclaimed. "They're already dead, so you can't very well kill them again! I only have about a dozen assembled at the moment... but they are engineered to put themselves back together if they lose any pieces! They will be unstoppable!"

"The minions that Gru and I have alone cannot really do to well as far as fighting as concerned... they were made more for stealth, not combat." Dr. Nefario said. "And they're not even fantastic as that, I'll add..." He cleared his throat. "However, I've come up with a serum that will make them impenetrable! They'll be as solid as metal and make excellent projectiles!"

"Oh, I almost forgot to thank you for supplying me some of your minions to test MY serum on, Dr. Nefario." Princess Bubblegum smiled.

"Indeed, these minions of yours are quite interesting... might you tell me how they were constructed?" Dr. Finkelstein asked Dr. Nefario.

Behind her, Dave approached Kevin who was one of the test subjects for Princess Bubblegum's serum, poking him and giggling. "Kevin stuck, eh heh heh!"

I smiled lightly, watching characters from all different shows and movies interacting and bonding as they worked together. "I think we have a chance." I said as Turbo stood next to me.

Turbo smiled up at me. "It's all thanks to you, Kara." He held my hand. "Besides... if Calhoun can fit a suit for Ralph, anything is possible." He chuckled.

I looked over to see Ralph trying on some chest armor, but his gut poked out a bit. "Ohhh come ooon!" Ralph groaned, and Vanellope was rolling around, giggling.

"Alright, bring in a quadruple extra large, Markowski, on the double!" Calhoun shouted, rolling her eyes when she saw Felix's armor was too big for him. "And a triple extra small!"

King Candy approached Rayne, who was sitting on a low branch of a lone tree in the field, staring straight ahead of her. "I wath jutht wondering..." He twiddled his fingers. "I know you originally agreed to help uth becauthe you didn't have your powerth before and had little choithe... but now that you have them back... why are you thtill helping uth?"

Rayne scoffed, glancing at him. "Because destroying you all now would be far too easy... I'd rather watch you all run right into the arms of death once this battle begins."

King Candy grunted as he struggled to climb the tree to get to her, and she rolled her eyes as he seated himself next to her, gently kicking his feet. "I'm glad you're thtill here. I can't wait to thee you fight. You mutht be incredible."

Rayne rolled her eyes. "Alright, you have my attention. You're flattering me, which means you want something. What could you possibly be bothering me with, I wonder?"

"I don't want anything... I'm jutht talking to you, ith all..." He looked up at her bashfully.

"Can't you bother someone else?" Rayne growled.

"I thuppothe... but, I like spending time with you..."

"Well, you shouldn't!" She snapped. "I am a heartless monster, I find joy in the misery of others, I show no mercy to those weaker than me and play the game with those stronger than I until I find a means to kill THEM." She said. "I am cunning, an analyzer, I manipulate and fool others, I turn someone against their best friend without them even realizing it, I bend someone to my will with just a sentence or two!" She glared at him darkly. "Why on this planet Earth would you like ME?"

King Candy bit his lip, adjusting his tie. "Becauthe... everyone detherveth a second chanthe... right?"

"You could give me an infinite number of chances, it wouldn't make a difference. Now, are we done here?"

King Candy still looked at her, taking out a cherry flavored jolly rancher and gently placing it in her lap. "I think the reathon you're tho bitter ith because ith how otherth treated you, too. You don't thrutht anyone becauthe of it." He smiles lightly. "You look like thomeone who liketh the cherry flavored oneth." Without another word, he hopped off the tree branch and skipped away, leaving Rayne quite dumbfounded at the boldness of the balding man walking away from her.

* * *

As the team headed for the factory, S.H.O.D.A.N glanced over at Raiden, her wired hair levitating as she floated near him. "I f- find organic matter impure... disg- gusting... really." She said to him. "Y- You are one of the f- few here that are actually qu- qualified to participate in this mission. Wh- When we are finished here, w- we could j- join forces in r- restoring order to this ch- chaotic world.."

Raiden glanced over at her, raising a brow. "You think I chose to become what I am? I was a prisoner of war; the patriots used me as a lab rat." He replied. "But... I am still human... as human as I have ever been, and I will never give that up for the likes of an AI that thinks the world should bend to its will." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Especially to one that has a speech impediment..." He muttered. "So don't even think about trying, or I won't hesitate to cut some wires."

S.H.O.D.A.N's eyes glowed with shock- no pun intended- and floated a bit slower as Raiden stormed past her.

Cloud walked near Claire, who was still upset from earlier. "Sometimes a good warrior has to have a heart." He said to her. "You just have to remember who you're fighting for." He sighed a bit. "You have a caring brother. That's a good thing for you. But it's also a good thing for your enemy. They can take away someone you love... take away a part of you." Claire stared at him as he spoke to her. "You remind me of someone. Someone I lost a long time ago."

Claire tilted her head a bit as they walked. "Who?"

Cloud shut his eyes tightly as the memory of his beloved Aerith being murdered before his eyes burned in his mind. "Someone close to my heart."

Soon, the factory was in sight, and the group stopped, Rafael scanning the area. "Interesting... Kara said they were flying around in swarms... but I just see the province up ahead."

"Do you think they know we're coming...?" Mickey asked.

S.H.O.D.A.N floated forward. "Perhaps n- now would be a good time to deploy my surveillance droids?"

"Good idea..." Rafael nodded. "Have some go into the factory, and others go to the other provinces. We have to know what we're up against there as well.

"Affirmative." She replied, and small droids began to crawl out from the wires in her hair, programmed with orders by her as they crawled on small metallic legs to their destinations.

"Well, if they're planning an ambush, they're making it painfully obvious..." Cole snickered.

Oswald threw his hood over his head. "Come on, let's go."

They proceeded forward with caution, stopping to hide against the walls on either side of the gate.

"Okay, Alex..." Rafael whispered. "Disguise yourself as that little abomination you absorbed... what the hell is her name?"

"Apple Bloom, apparently. Her older sister is named Apple Jack, and is one of the main six... whatever that means." Alex replied.

"Just get us inside." Rafael replied, and Alex morphed into Apple Bloom, wearing a look of disgust. "Ugh, I look like a possessed stuffed animal..." He muttered as he went up to the gate. "Apple Jack! Apple Jack, someone, help me! They killed Scootaloo, please help me!"

Sweetie Belle saw her friend through the surveillance screen inside the factory, gasping. "Spike!" She exclaims; the main six had left for the real world, leaving him in charge of the factory. She told him what she saw, and he narrowed his eyes.

"Something smells fishy... you said that she and Scootaloo were dead." Spike said.

"But it's her, I saw it for myself!" Sweetie cried.

"Fine. We'll let her in... but we have to be careful." Spike said as they proceeded to the gate, seeing who they believed to be Apple Bloom.

"Apple!" Sweetie cried. "You're alive! Those awful characters... when the others come back, we'll get them for what they did to Scootaloo!"

"Yeah... don't worry, we'll find them. Let's head in before we're seen." Alex said as Apple, and proceeded inside with Sweetie and Spike. As the gate was closing, Commander Jane quickly activated her omni tool, a glove like gadget that glowed an orange like hue, and could make small, three dimensional objects out of plastic, metal and other materials, the object embedding itself into the ground once it was fabricated, sticking out by a few inches so when Spike and Sweetie headed inside, the gate was left slightly ajar, undetected by them.

"Okay, they're inside, fellas." Mickey said.

"Do they have any security cameras?" Rafael asked.

Adam quickly scanned the area with a peek around the gate. "They've got them alright... shouldn't be too hard to deactivate. Give me a minute." He was equipped with augmentations that allowed him to become invisible, squeezing inside and locating the manual operation pad for the outside security system. It was hooked up to a secondary generator in case the primary generator shut down, so the security cameras could be deactivated from the gate area as well as within the factory. He quickly hacked into the system, shutting the cameras down and becoming visible again. "Done."

"Now we just need to get inside..." Rafael said, going up to a door. "This is locked with a security code."

"I can handle that." Elizabeth said, the young girl walking over to the door, Booker remaining nearby. She began to tweak with the pin pad a bit, working as quickly as possible.

Veronica looked over at Samus, who had taken her helmet off to take a breather. "You know... you're pretty buff under that suit." She said. "I was never into all that bulky armor... I want protective wear that shows off my figure. Why can't we fight in a dress? I've always wanted a nice dress."

"Well, I've gotten used to it. But I do have my zero suit under it..." Samus says, glancing to the side. "I... don't wear it too often. I don't like how people look at me with it on."

"Let me see." Veronica said. Samus reluctantly showed Veronica what she looked like with just her zero suit... she was indeed very physically fit. Veronica blushed a bit, clearing her throat. "You look fine... you know, I don't know why being buff always has to be a 'man' thing. It's like, if a woman isn't slender and a weakling, it's unnatural. So when people insult you, maybe they're just afraid; afraid that you are more powerful than they are comfortable with you being. That's how they try to take that power from you."

Samus smiled lightly at Veronica, putting her armor back on. "Thanks... um-"

"Veronica." She smiled.

"Yes, Veronica... I'm Samus."

"Got it." Elizabeth said, and the factory door opened. "Everyone ready...?"

"Let's shoot the stuffing out of those little freaks, huh?" Marcus said, loading his gun.

One by one, the team headed in, not knowing what to expect but prepared for the worst.

* * *

Rainbowdash trotted towards Pinkie Pie, having done some scouting. "It took me some time, but I located their area. It seems like all of the characters have come here and they're preparing for battle."

"Just as I thought... tell everyone to get ready. They won't be able to beat us. Even if they get past the humans, Transformers, and G.I Joe team, we've got our factory going and we've got plenty of ponies in the other provinces building new homes and supplying rations. With all the characters here, there's no one stopping us back in cartoonverse, and the more they lose of their own, the more we can fill in any ponies that are defeated. There's just no WAY they'll win!" She laughed.

"But what about those characters that DID stay behind?" Apple Jack asked. "They killed my little sister and Scootaloo!"

"Pfft, you think a few characters can stop everything we have over there? Please! Let them try!" Pinkie chuckled darkly.

Little did Pinkie know, that we had out own scouts looking out for us. The white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland scrambled back to our camp as the ponies set up nearby, gasping for air when he returned.

"Oh my, forgive me, I'm late, I'm late!" He cried.

"Late for what?" I asked. "White Rabbit, what's wrong?"

"O- Oh dear, the ponies! The ponies are here! They're by the beach, they're preparing to bring doom upon us!"

I looked back towards the others, biting my lip. "They must know we're here..." I nodded. "Thank you, White Rabbit." I went up to Calhoun. "Have your men go out to the perimeter and keep watch... this battle is going to start quicker than I thought." I walked around our camp area to all the different characters. "Lelouche!" I called out, and the anime character turned to me.

"Yes?"

"How are the sky fleets coming?" I asked.

"We're coming along rather quickly... we've tested all the ships and they are all in working condition. Thankfully we managed to escape with some after the ponies took over animetropolis." Lelouche replied.

I cleared my throat, blushing a bit. I always thought that he was pretty cute, so actually talking to him was... nice, to put it mildly. But I reminded myself that I was already taken. "Okay, good... just keep in touch with Hiccup, and Ash, they will be in charge of the Dragons and the sky Pokemon and will be fighting with you."

"Very well, I'll have them assign their ranks with ours." Lelouche nodded, before returning to his tasks.

Vanellope skipped up to me. "Hey Kara, all the vehicles are shined up and ready to go! We're ready to make some fresh pony road kill!"

"Good..." I sighed lightly. "Because the ponies will be here before we know it."

* * *

The team slowly and cautiously moved through the halls of the factory, seeing no sign of a single pony anywhere thus far. It was making everyone more alert and vigilant than ever, just waiting for the moment when they were going to be ambushed. S.H.O.D.A.N. had discovered through her surveillance droids that the communities being built in the other provinces had smaller factories in them as a safety precaution, so Frank had his camera on silent and no flash, taking pictures of items and rooms that would prove useful to destroying the smaller factories as well.

"So S.H.O.D.A.N, run through who are the assigned overseers of each province now." Rafael said to her.

She nodded. "L- Let's see... this factory in Hubville is n- now under the command of Sp- pike... Nickelodeon City is under c- command of P- Princess Celestia... C- Cartoon Netopolis i- is under the command of P- Princess Luna, as well as it's h- hamlet, Adult S- Swim Town... Animet- topolis is under the command o- of Trixie, and Disneyverse is und- der the command of Discord." She replied.

"Damn..." Rafael shook his head. "That's a lot to get through..."

Samuel was looking around, tilting his head at Ezio. "How do you see with that damn thing on...?" Referring to his hood.

"I see just fine with it. It conceals my identity... it is a symbol of brotherhood." Ezio replied.

"Huh... how did that start?"

"I leaned about my heritage from my uncle; I came from a long line of assassins. I set out do destroy those who slaughtered my family." Ezio replied.

"Neat. Well, I come from a long line of samurai myself... ran my own dojo at one point. Guess we both have killer instincts running through our veins, huh? Well... not so many for me..." Samuel chuckled, flexing one of his cyborg arms.

"Yes... I suppose so." Ezio said, before glancing over at Veronica. "And what might your name be?"

"Veronica." She replied.

"Hm... a very pretty name." He smiled lightly. "I am Ezio. I should like to make your acquaintance..."

Veronica raised a brow. "Okay, two things. One, We're in the middle of a dangerous mission... now, there's no problem with some romantic tension during an actual battle, but not... not here. Two... you're not my type."

Ezio tilted his head. "How do you know I'm not your type...?"

"Because you're not female." Veronica smiled, patting his shoulder as they continued on. It took a couple seconds for Ezio to register what she meant, rubbing his temples.

"Smooth, Ez. Smooth." Cole chuckled.

As they continued along their way, they stopped when they heard a sound. Booker took a step forward, furrowing a brow as he picked up an apple with a bite taken out of it. "Well... that was... interesting..."

Claire stopped in her tracks. Having survived through several horrifying missions, she knew that anything could be lurking where one least expected it, and as she slowly reached for her gun, she looker up, pointing her gun. She sighed when she saw nothing, about to put the gun back when she looked forward, her eyes widening. "Raiden... stay right... where you are."

"... Pardon? What do you mean by-"

"Just stay still for a second!" Claire exclaimed, looking in the reflection of his back, completely metal. She loaded her gun as she realized that the apple was a ploy to keep them looking ahead as she saw, in the reflection, hundreds of ponies slowly, and silently, sneaking up on them, their eyes wide and unblinking, smiles frighteningly wide, about a few yards behind them. "Everyone, get your weapons ready..." Claire said barely above a whisper. "I found our ambush."

* * *

**This was an incredibly hard chapter to write, because it's hard to effectively white out so many characters while giving them a reason to be included, and when I don't know some of them very well. Thanks again to my friend for your help, (even though you fell asleep at the end! XD) And I hope that I at least somewhat kept everyone in character and kept things interesting. **


	17. A Bold Move

**Greetings, readers! Return your positions to the edge of your seats because a new chapter has arrived to solve that cliff hanger! What will happen next? Read and find out! As always, remember to review, and most importantly, enjoy! :D**

* * *

The team of video game characters all turned around, wielding swords and aiming guns as a swarm of ponies quickly surrounded them, pegusi hovering over at them as they snapped their jaws, trying to grab at their weapons. Unicorns prodded them into a huddled space as they were encircled.

"Oh, screw this! Can we just shoot the little bas-!" Marcus started.

"There's too many of them, if we attack, they'll bury us!" Oswald shouted.

"We're assassins for Rome's sake, if we DON'T attack them then they'll kill us anyway!" Ezio shouted back.

When the ponies fully surrounded them, they parted to let Spike and Apple Bloom through, and the team said nothing, nor did they react, knowing that Alex was still in disguise.

He was their only hope at this point. Rafael knew that this was a game they had to play.

"Everyone, put your weapons away and put your hands up." He said to the others.

"You're kidding, right?" Raiden replied.

"Trust me, just do it, okay?" Rafael snapped.

"H- Humans... s- so weak..." S.H.O.D.A.N muttered as she glanced around.

Spike narrowed his eyes, the small dragon taking a good look at the team of killers as they surrendered. "So, you thought you could just sneak in here and take over, did you? This place is MINE now, it was given to me and you're not taking it!" He laughed maniacally, his pupils narrowing to slits. "Now... what do do with you... we could melt down all the metal stuff down to make more materials with... as for the rest of you, we could just assume you into our ranks..."

"We will never join forces with you, pathetic excuse for a fire breather." Kratos growled.

"Well, you won't have a choice. You see, there's a small detail that none of you know about, a small detail in our magic that will make all you other stupid toons fear death even more!" Spike said.

Rafael chuckled. "Huh... funny you mention death..." He smirked under his mask. "We had a good time killing your little spies earlier. You really thought that sending them was a smart idea? Can't fight us worth crap. That's why you need to make so many of yourselves... alone, you guys are defenseless."

Spike narrowed his eyes. "We're going to get you back for killing Scootaloo! No one messes with us without-..." He stopped mid-sentence, furrowing a brow. "Wait... did you say... spies?"

The moment those words were said, Alex, who had been right behind Spike next to Sweetie Belle, began to transform back into himself, making the small pony shriek loudly, like fingernails on a chalkboard. The awful sound ceased only when Alex made his hand into the black mass of spikes, swiping his hand across the air to slice her up. Spike growled, inhaling deeply to attempt to incinerate Alex, but he shielded himself, before he impaled Spike, absorbing him.

"Now, now! Attack!" Rafael shouted as the other ponies cried out, swarming them.

Mickey and Oswald took to the air, bouncing off the walls as they took to killing ponies with their keyblades. Booker kept Elizabeth close to him as he fired his rifle at any surrounding ponies. However, a pegusi swooped in, grabbing the back of her collar and lifted her up, and a unicorn was about to impale her.

"NO! Elizabeth!" Booker cried.

Elizabeth struggled, but gasped as Alex tore apart the unicorn as he attacked from the side, before grabbing the pegusi's wing and tearing it off, catching Elizabeth in his other arm. Booker inhaled sharply as Alex placed her down before her father, nodding as he returned to tearing ponies apart.

Cloud soared through the air similar to Mickey and Oswald, his large blade slicing through several ponies at one time.

"Claire, back to back!" Chris shouted.

"Got it!" She shouted back, and the two of them turned in all directions, shooting ponies coming at them. "Give me another mag!" She caught one that he tossed, quickly locking and loading as she continued firing her handgun.

Veronica grunted as she smashed groups of ponies with her power fist, as well as damaging some equipment when she got a chance. "We have to get to the assembly lines, I can make a mess in there but we need a path cleared! If we don't stop that more will just keep coming!"

Booker held Elizabeth close as he set some surrounding ponies on fire, while Adam used his explosive system to blast a larger group away.

Cloud planted his feet on the ground, whipping his blade so the wall was splattered with what looked like vibrantly colored paint. However, he didn't notice that a unicorn was galloping straight for him, her horn sharpened to impale him.

"Cloud!" Claire screamed, running over to shoot down the unicorn as she was in mid jump. It landed on the ground harshly, and Cloud turned to look at her, shocked by what just happened. She smiled lightly, giving him a nod. Cloud gave the slightest of smiled back, until he noticed Chris screaming for her. She whirled around, a group of pegusi trying to tear at him. She shot them off, and Cloud turned to fight more coming at him. "Chris, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit shaken up. Come on, no time for breaks!" He replied.

S.H.O.D.A.N simply floated forward, and as ponies tried to tear apart her wiring, they only electrocuted themselves as she made her way to the main assembly lines. She smirked a bit, holding out her hands. Any metal pieces began to assemble into a mass that she commanded to attack. It smashed through the wall, leaving a huge opening as the assembly lines began to malfunction.

"Tear it apart!" One of the ponies shouted, and they bit and gnawed at the metal mass S.H.O.D.A.N controlled as the others kept fighting.

Cole was shocking some ponies himself with his lightening bolts. "God, I haven't had this much fun shooting freaks since Empire City!" He shouted, laughing as they fell around him.

Gordan Freeman used his gravity gun to take apart more machinery once they were able to get into the main assembly room, huge tanks filled with vibrant colored paint being torn off the walls and hurled at swarms of ponies, ripping through walls and flooding the halls with the paint.

Marcus emitted a battle cry as he chain sawed through ponies. "Kratos, man! Throw some at me, big boy!"

Kratos narrowed his eyes at Marcus for a moment, before using his superhuman strength to grab pegusi out of the air, hurling them towards Marcus, chain sawing them in mid air. He then took one into his hands, the pony screeching and snapping its teeth at him as his fist tightened around its head, crushing its skull in. It fell limply to the ground as he continued on.

"Fellas! According to what Rayne said, they have backup assembly lines in this factory! But it's in a highly secured area!" Mickey shouted as he and Oswald keybladed through a few more ponies.

"I have whatever security codes Spike knew in my head. When we get there we can get inside and deactivate them!" Alex said.

Veronica used her fist to destroy the rest of the main assembly line, before fighting through more ponies to proceed to the backup assembly lines. Alex quickly got past the security codes, but as he went to go through the door, he hissed, falling to his knees.

"Alex, what's wrong...?" Dante asked.

"I don't know...!" He backed up, and the intense pain went away. "Something's up with this doorway..."

Rafael tweaked his mask a bit, groaning when he saw the problem. "There's an added feature on this door... anything that's not a pony or whatever creatures are from that show will feel intense pain if they try to go through there."

Elizabeth looked over the security pad, frowning. "I don't see any command prompts to deactivate it..."

"Damn!" Samuel shouted. "The hell are we supposed to do now?"

"Hm... Alex, can you try to go in there as one of the characters you absorbed...? I'm sure they weren't expecting someone with that ability when they set this up." Rafael asked.

"Well, guess we won't find out unless I try..." Alex replied, before morphing back into Apple Bloom. He inhaled sharply, closing his eyes to step through, and was relieved when he felt no pain.

"Excellent!" Rafael exclaimed. "You still have that C4 I gave you?"

"Uh, yeah... how in the hell do these stupid little craps do anything..." Alex muttered as he fumbled to plant the C4. "No freaking fingers, can't even see straight, I'm so damn short..."

"Not to mention you look like a girl, Mercer!" Dante shouted from outside.

"Shut up Dante, before I set you up on a date with the devil!" Alex shouted back, fumbling to try to hold the detonator. "Ah, screw it. Rafael, catch!" He said before taking it into his mouth, tossing it. Rafael caught it once it was flung outside the room, nodding.

"You all set up?" Rafael asked.

"Yeah, now let's get out of this joint and stop these machines from pumping out more of those little freaks!" He said as he came out of the room, returning to his normal self. "Glad that's over, jeez..."

As the group proceeded down the hallway, fighting through some more ponies, a pegusi caught sight of Rafael holding the detonator, narrowing its eyes. It told the other pegusi around it to distract the nearby team members, and it dove from behind, aiming for its target.

Rafael was shooting down some ponies when he felt something be snatched from his hand.

The detonator.

The pegusi held onto the detonator in her hoofs, throwing her head back to laugh. "You're going to die for what you've done to us. You killed Spike, and the young ponies, that would have grown to be excellent members of the herd. You thought that we wouldn't make it... but now none of you will get out."

Rafael groaned as the pony balanced the detonator so it could press the button. "Yeah, we're screwed."

"Everyone, come over to me! Hurry! Come over to me!" Elizabeth screamed. She turned, biting her lip as she spread her arms out, creating a tear; a window like portal to a different world and location; in this case, outside of the factory.

As the team made a run for the tear, the pegusi pressed the button on the detonator. The sound of the factory blowing to smithereens suddenly filled everyone's ears, the sound wave rippling through the corridors as they were torn apart. Everyone sprinted through the tear, throwing themselves on the ground and covering themselves. out from the tear came fire and debris, as well as ponies set ablaze, emitting ear piercing screeches. When it was safe, Elizabeth closed the tear, sighing lightly as she turned to the others.

"Well, she just saved all our behinds..." Raiden said as he stood.

Veronica grunted, trying to get herself up, but noticed she had fell on someone. She gasped when she realized who it was, scrambling backwards. "Jeez, I'm sorry..." She got to her feet, helping Samus up.

"No biggie, don't worry about it..." She held onto Veronica's hand as she was helped up, clearing her throat. "You fought really well back there."

"Yeah... you too." Veronica smiled.

"Alright, where to next?" Oswald asked.

Rafael took a few seconds to scan the area. "Well, now that the main factory is utterly destroyed... we have to go pillage some villages now. Let's start with Animetopolis, it's the closest province to here according to my GPS."

"Th- They are well aw-ware of what happened here and are prepar-ring for our arriv-val." S.H.O.D.A.N said, alerted by her surveillance droids hiding there.

"Nothing will prepare them for us." Jacket said, and the group began to head towards Animetopolis to carry out the next part of their mission.

* * *

Markowski was guarding the perimeter of our base along with other Hero's Duty soldiers, keeping watch for any intruders. When they noticed Pinkie Pie, accompanied by Rainbowdash, approaching, they all got their weapons ready.

"Stop!" A soldier cried. "If you take another step closer, we'll shoot!"

The ponies stopped, and Pinkie giggled, putting on a "friendly" face. "There's no need to be so mean! We're just coming for a visit! We wanted to talk to whoever your ruler is here!"

"It's 'whomever,' not 'whoever.'" I said as I approached the soldiers from behind, Turbo next to me. "Turbo, stay with Markowski."

"Kara, I am not letting you go with those things by yourself-"

"Turbo, please. I can handle this."

The racer exhaled sharply, nodding. "Just be careful."

I nodded, turning to Pinkie. "What is this about, Pinkie?"

"You know I'm a forgiving pony... Kara, is it? We're having a little party... why not join us and talk things over?" She replied.

I narrowed my eyes. "Fine. I'll join your little gathering... but I'm not much of a party person, you know..." I said as Rainbowdash glared up at me warily. "And you can hold the cupcakes, thanks."

Pinkie Pie watched me as I walked with them, smirking lightly. We went to a small tent just outside their camp, and inside, the table was filled with tea and an assortment of sweets and desserts. "Are you sure you don't want any?"

"No... see, the last time I had something of yours I had an upset stomach... much like the feeling the rest of you give me anyway."

Pinkie chuckled lightly. "So, I guess you're resistant to our magic somehow... it's odd since every other human in this world... and there was quite a lot of them... assimilated into our herd pretty quickly." She slurped on some tea. "So your... condition, I guess I can call it, makes me really worried..." She furrowed her brows. "We'll just have to assimilate you some other way. And your friends too, of course... a friend of ours is a friend of the herd, after all!"

I scoffed. "You honestly think I'll just join you like that? I would rather die."

Pinkie's expression darkened then as she smirked. "That can be arranged..." I glanced between her and Rainbowdash, both who wore the same expression.

"Why are you doing this, anyway? Just 'tween us girls... I thought you 'loved and tolerated' everybody..."

"Oh, but we do... that's why if everyone would just cooperate and become one with the herd, we could all love each other and always be happy!" Pinkie replied.

"Bull crap." I spat. "You know why I felt so uneasy the first time I saw you?"

"Why's that?" Pinkie replied.

"Because trust me, plenty of things have creeped me out or chilled me to the bone. But they're usually things that are supposed to be creepy, or even when they're not... I can... walk around... I know that after time, its effect will wear. I'll be able to overcome it. But you... everywhere I turn, there you are. Your face will never leave me. Everywhere I look, you're there. I see you in places and in people that I shouldn't see you in. It's like you're a virus, and you're taking over everything I love... and I'm afraid that one day, I'll be the only one left. When I saw you... I knew you were the most dangerous thing because you're making yourself out to be something that isn't invasive... and it's what makes you just that."

Pinkie's smirk turned into a scowl for a fraction of a moment, before it returned to a soft smile... but something sinister lurked behind it. "I'm sorry you feel that way... I never meant to make you feel so scared... that's not who we are. We don't even want to fight you like this, but we have to defend our herd, you see..."

"Yeah... like you invaded my people. Totally not calling the tea kettle black." I raised a brow.

"We didn't invade them... we made them a part of who we are, we showed them a better way to live... you should know better than anyone that humans are filled with senseless violence, greed, empty hearts... well we filled them right up with our love!"

"Just get to the point. What do you have to say to me...?" I said.

"As I already said, we don't want to have to fight you... either way, you and all your toon friends will be assimilated into our herd anyhow!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see, when the time is right. But you can make it so easy... stop trying to fight us... it's so easy to just let the magic flow into you and become one of us. All the sadness and pain, regret, hatred, you ever felt, will go away." She went to reach for my hands, and I scrambled out of my chair, eyes crazed, staring at her as I breathed heavily.

"I will never join you. I will never become a part of your consumption of everything I ever loved, everything that ever existed! You think you can take every creation ever made it and wipe it clean, change it into you! Everywhere I look, I see ponies, I see you! Hiding, lurking, waiting to take over any character, any film, video game, show, everything!" I glared at her angrily. "I will never submit to you."

Pinkie held an arm out to stop Rainbowdash, sitting back down slowly and raising her teacup. "I will always remember your bravery. It's a shame... you would have been a great addition to our herd... but when this battle is over... no one will even remember you."

* * *

The team was already well on their way, slicing and dicing through the growing pony communities of the former Animetopolis, and it wasn't long before they reached the factory in that province, far smaller than the gargantuan unit that had been established over the whole of Hubville.

"Jeez... we've gone through about a quarter of our ammo already..." Marcus groaned. "How many more of these screwed up towns do we have to go through again?"

"The benefits of using a sword..." Cloud replied, splattering a rainbow assortment of blood and paint onto the ground as he whipped it off his sword.

"Okay... it seems our main target is that factory. My GPS is saying Trixie is inside." Rafael said.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Oswald said. "Let's head inside and be done with it."

The team approached the small factory, some more C4s exploding in the background, setting the semi-built village ablaze. Elizabeth stepped forward, playing around with the pin pad until she saw the green light activate, smiling proudly. "This is some good practice..." She said, backing up.

Marcus stepped up, grunting as he kicked the door in. They filed into the factory, noticing it was quite dark inside, the only light spilling through the door.

"Yeah, thanks, Ramirez. How about we secure the burger town next before the Russians take over?" Rafael chuckled as they entered.

"What the hell are you implying?" Marcus replied to Rafael's comment.

S.H.O.D.A.N illuminated herself, dispelling the darkness around her. She noticed movement, whipping her head to see something on the ground. Something began to swirl around above them, noticing a rain cloud starting to form as the object; a star cape and hat, began to levitate, Trixie coming into them from thin air as she chuckled darkly, her laughter echoing throughout the factory. Thunder erupted above them, and the only time they could see her was when lightening flickered like a candle above them, illuminating Trixie's face.

"I am... the great and powerful Trixie... consider yourselves lucky that you were able to see my awesome power before I kill you!" She shouted before all the objects in the room began to levitate, thunder roaring as she threw her head back, laughing. Pegusi began to soar out from the assembly lines, and the team got to work.

"Lightening, huh? The more, the better!" Cole said.

Mickey soared through the air with his keyblade, dodging blasts of lightening before attacking the pegusi diving at the group. Those who kept their feet planted on the ground aimed their firearms as best they could.

"Ugh, I can't see a thing!" Claire shouted.

"Back against the wall, Claire, if they come from behind we're done for!" Chris shouted to her.

Biker gripped his cleaver tightly, narrowing his eyes when a pegusus flew straight for him. At just the right moment, he sliced its wing off, making it fly head first into a wall, crushing its skull in. Jacket grabbed a metal pipe that was floating near him, whacking another pegusus with it. Some of the team members weren't affected by the dark, and could see and fight just as well. Raiden had no problem slicing through pegusi and objects being hurled at him, and Alex sliced and absorbed pegusi left and right.

"We have to destroy the assembly lines! These things will just keep coming if we don't, and we have to kill the main psychotic one!" Booker shouted.

"On it!" Veronica shouted. "Someone has to keep miss magician distracted so I can get past her!"

"Very well!" Booker replied. He saw Alex nearby, before looking at Elizabeth. "Go to him. Stay near him and stay safe."

"Yes, father..." The two hugged, and she ran to Alex, who looked at her in surprise. "Kid, your dad's gonna blow a hole in my gut if you stick too close!"

"He told me to stay by your side!" Elizabeth smiled, causing Alex to look at him. Booker gave him a nod, before running over to where Trixie was floating, dodging a few pegusi.

Booker smirked, summoning his "murder of crows," which swarmed around Trixie and distracted her for just enough time for Veronica to sprint into the room with the assembly lines, using her fist to start destroying the machinery inside. When Trixie realized this, she became angered beyond comprehension. Her amulet began to glow, gritting her teeth as objects started flying around the room. She dispersed the crows, and when Booker began to levitate, Elizabeth cried out.

"NO! Father!" Alex held her back when she tried to run for him.

Biker narrowed his eyes, waiting for the right moment when he had a clear shot. He reared his arm back, tossing his cleaver so it was soaring through the air. When it looked like Trixie was done for, she saw it coming in her peripheral vision, and Booker was dropped to the ground as the cleaver stopped, inches from her face. She grinned darkly at Biker, and in a moment, the cleaver was sent hurling back at him. Biker's eyes widened, and he had no time to react before the cleaver embedded itself into his head, right between the eyes. His eyes rolled up as blood trickled down his face, falling to his knees before collapsing on his side limply.

Rafael quickly glanced over, gasping lightly when Biker fell. "Crap, Biker!" Rafael cried. "Oh that's it, you are so getting it you evil b-"

"Okay, one problem is taken care of!" Veronica shouted as she ran back in from the assembly line room. "Let's take this thing down and get going!"

"I can put her on a pan and make fried eggs out of her brain with all the electricity she's making from her storm, but I can't get her when she's floating up there like that!" Cole shouted. "Whoever tries that is going to be right in her line of vision, she'll just kill whoever comes at her like that!"

"So you're making one of us bait, huh? I'm hot, but I'm not getting myself killed!" Samuel shouted.

"Then have two people distract her, we don't have all the time in the world here to be wasting!" Cole shouted.

Dante and Jacket ran up to where Trixie was floating, Jacket throwing a chunk of metal to get her attention. Dante took out his two pistols, firing them at her. Cole took to charging his amp in the meantime, but Dante furrowed a brow when Trixie stopped all his bullets in midair, chuckling darkly as they all fell to the ground. He narrowed his eyes, taking out his sword. Jacket took to hitting objects she threw at them with his pipe like a baseball bat, and Dante sliced through some as well. When Jacket hit an object back at her and it hit Trixie square in the jaw, she swayed a bit when she was thrown back a few feet. This infuriated her to the breaking point, and her eyes glowed red as she grit her teeth. Her amulet lit up, and Jacket levitated into the air. He grit his teeth, screaming painfully as his arm started to be torn right off his shoulder, painfully slow before it dropped to the ground. No matter how hard everyone tried, Trixie made it impossible to get to him between the wind, rain, objects flying around and any remaining pegusi. Slowly, she tore Jacket apart limb from limb, laughing chaotically as he dropped to the ground, bleeding to death. While she laughed, Cole grit his teeth, his amp charged. Trixie's laughter turned into an expression of panic as she felt herself being dragged down, her eyes widening as she flailed her arms and legs. On the way down, Rafael narrowed his eyes, jumping up and ripping the amulet off her neck, throwing it on the ground and stomping on it, cracking it. Cole proceeded to pin her down on the ground, hissing, screeching and thrashing about.

"You will never kill me! I am the almighty Trixie!" She shrieked at Cole.

Cole focused the electricity he collected into his amp on her, and she emitted a blood curdling scream as he began to electrocute her. When he was finished, Trixie twitched for a few moments, before lying motionless, her tongue hanging out of her mouth and her brain matter seeping onto the floor. The remaining lights flickered back on as the storm inside the building dissipated, and everyone slowly recovered from the fight. Ezio took note of Biker and Jacket, laying them side by side, having to collect Jacket's limbs and place them close to his body in the process. He knelt before them, closing his eyes and placing his hands on them.

"Che tu possa alfinetrovare riposo nel corpo e nella mente. Requiescat in Pace." Ezio said, opening his eyes and standing up.

"What does that mean?" Claire asked softly.

"May your body and mind at last be still. Rest in peace." Ezio replied. "Come. We must destroy this place and move on."

Adam planted a bunch of C4s, and the group left the factory, waiting until they were far enough before pressing the button on the detonator, blowing up the factory and leaving even fewer pony survivors.

"Where to next, navigator?" Mickey smiled lightly at Rafael.

"Nickelodeon City. How's our C4 doing?" Rafael asked.

"Not bad. It's ammo we're worried about. A third of it is gone and we still have three provinces to storm." Adam replied.

"Okay. If you have any skills with blades or any other weapons, try to mix it up for now. It'll be very bad if we run out." Rafael noted as they headed into the next city, ready to set some more cottages ablaze.

* * *

Rayne approached me as I came back from the meeting with Pinkie Pie. "Did she try to force feed you one of her confectionery treats?"

"No... she asked if I would submit to her and put this battle to rest. I refused of course... it's going to start tomorrow when both sides are fully ready." I replied.

"Hm... how do you know they won't try to ambush camp while we all slumber? Slit a few throats, perhaps...?" Rayne asked as she hovered around.

"I already have assigned characters to stand on guard in shifts through the night." I said. I then went over to Turbo, who took my hand, and I told him what had transpired.

Rayne watched me go to him, before she looked all around her. Characters talking, planning, making alliances, comforting loved ones, even laughing at times. She was at the very center of it all, but she was the loneliest of all of them. She floated toward a tent, feeling quite bored... she had no one to quarrel or tamper with, not even anyone to talk to... not that anyone would want to talk to her anyway-

"Oh, hello Rayne! Enjoy that jolly rancher?"

She turned quickly at the sound of the voice to see King Candy smiling at her. What didn't he understand? There were SO many others he could be talking to, who he could care about, so many who would possibly reciprocate his affections. Why did he keep pursuing HER? Rayne grit her teeth as she glanced to the side. She was being too soft. She shouldn't have to explain herself to make him leave her alone... he should just follow her command without question. She was about to scream at him, but when she saw him, all she could do was stare at him, glaring as her eyes pierced into his. Why could she not act? Why was she hesitating? She could crush him without even touching him, with just a simple gesture of her hand. Something provoked her to say something, a deep need to just verbalize to SOMEONE, but nothing came out. She stood there, glaring at him, loathing that he made her question her ability to be feared, questioned her ability to chill even the warmest of hearts. No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop him from coming back.

It was bad enough she could not defeat me... but now... this was too much.

She began to tremble, her brows furrowed deeply. As these feelings churned inside her, it all erupted, came up from her gut, through her throat in an ear piercing scream, making the bouncing monarch scramble backwards in utter shock. Everyone around her stopped what they were doing and stared, and Rayne looked all around her, her pupils dilating.

"You all just stay away from me!" She screamed. "All of you!" She snapped. "I don't care what any of you think, I don't care what you all feel! I am not your friend, and I do not care what fate brings for any of you!" She whipped her head to King Candy, teeth bared as red mist coming off of her dissolved into black mist.

"R- Rayne... I-" King Candy started.

"You will not make a fool of me ANYMORE." She said to him. "You think I could have the ability to love, to feel, for anything, let alone for the likes of YOU!" She screamed, and the sky started to darken. I looked up for a moment before looking back as her as I watched the scene unravel. "I feel NOTHING. I am as hard as stone, nothing can weaken me. I will not be made vulnerable by a pathetic waste of life and I will not ever show you mercy."

King Candy furrowed his brows deeply, looking down at his feet as he began to sniffle, breaking down as he covered his face, as much as his small hands would allow. "I thought you understhtood... what it'th like to be hated, to be thrown athide and be dithappointed over and over... every time I try to do the right thing, I wath punished for it... every time I tried to be happy, it wath taken from me... I don't jutht love you becauthe you're beautiful, or thtrong, or powerful... but becauthe I thought you were lotht in a maze... a maze that everything you had thuffered had put you in, that you needed thomeone to find you and lead you out... but... I wath wrong..." King Candy wiped his face, staring at her angrily. "You are jutht heartleth! You don't detherve to be loved and you'll alwayth be alone!" He stormed off, sniffling a bit more. Characters standing around glared at her, slowly returning to what they were doing.

Rayne furrowed her brows, whirling around and going into the tent. I went in after her. "Rayne..." I said.

"Let me be. No one around here knows the meaning of just leaving me alone." Rayne said tiredly.

"Rayne, listen to me, please... there's nothing wrong with just... with being nice to him... I mean, he-"

"NO!" Rayne growled as she got in my face. "If he wants to be a fool, then whatever pain he feels is brought upon by himself!"

"But that's not fair!"

"LIFE ISN'T FAIR!" Rayne screamed, whirling back around to sit in a chair, banging the table hard. She rested her head in her hands, exhaling sharply. "I don't remember anything from before I was born into this world with you except for incredible pain, vulnerability... I swore after I loathed you I would never weaken again. To be strong is to fight... to fight is to disregard your enemy, to show no mercy, to not feel."

"But Rayne, he isn't your enemy..."

"Everyone is my enemy. And everyone I were to love could be used against me by my enemy... even the enemy of death."

I approached Rayne, sitting next to her. "Love can overpower even death, Rayne. Death may win for a while... but even after time, love overpowers death because we always come back to the ones we love... no matter how long it takes." Rayne glanced over at me, saying nothing. "Power comes in numbers... you don't have to love infinite numbers of people... your hatred and loathing has allowed you to survive all this time, but that's all you're doing Rayne, is surviving. You're not truly living, you're not whole. you've had to feed off of others and steal their power away in order to sustain yourself. That only lasts for so long. But if you just learn to love... love always triumphs over hatred, Rayne... even if you lose now, you always come out on top later."

Rayne slowly looked down, gasping lightly as she furrowed her brows deeply. "I... I..." She suddenly gripped her chest, her eyes widening, shaking her head. "This... this can't be happening...!"

"What, what is it? What's wrong?!" I exclaimed.

"MY HEART!" She screamed. "I feel my heart!"

I stared at her, my eyes wide.

Rayne had felt.

* * *

**So much more to write, ladies and gentlemen, but I will stop here before it gets too long. We've come very far, but there's more to do, and it will be quite a while before this story concluded! Hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to review! Thanks for reading! :D**


	18. A Fighting Chance

**With the defeat of Trixie, our heroes are one step closer to successfully completing their mission. But many challenges still lie ahead, and there is more to do. Will they be able to overcome what is in store for them? Will they lose any more team members? Will they be able to make it to the end, and before the battle begins in the real world? Read, my friends, and enjoy the next part in this exciting adventure! :D**

* * *

Rafael prodded a pony he had just shot down, looking up at the castle in the middle of the burning pony community built within the former Nickelodeon City. "Jeez... that's gonna take even more C4s to blow up than the last couple..." He said.

"This is gonna be a tough one, fellas..." Mickey frowned.

"Sh- She has the powers of phy-ysical strength and telekine-esis... at least I'll be able to participa-ate in this battle due to the lack of wa-ater sources..." S.H.O.D.A.N. noted, having to stay sheltered the entirety of the last battle.

"Alright... before we do this, we should look around to see if there's anything we can use for ammo. We're down half way now and that's not good. We still have two more provinces to go and we are not nearly done here yet." Rafael said.

Samus was just in her zero suit now, stretching out her legs a bit. She looked up when Veronica approached her, jumping to her feet. "You ready for this?"

"Ready as I'll be." Veronica smiled.

"Do you always wear that hood on? I can't even see your hair." Samus asked.

"I'd rather leave it on... I don't look all that great without it." Veronica replied.

"Says who? Come on. I showed you my zero suit, you've got to show me."

Veronica cleared her throat, flipping it back off her head to reveal very short, brown hair. "I'm don't have a very 'girly' face... not like yours."

Samus shrugged. "You look fine. Better with it off, actually." She smiled, and Veronica blushed lightly.

Marcus returned with Frank, handing Rafael the small amount of ammo they were able to find. "Dunno how much ammo a bunch of colorful demons will have... but it's more than nothing, I guess."

"Alright then. S.H.O.D.A.N said that Celestia is in the throne room of the castle, so we have to get to the assembly lines from the back. She's currently alerting the other two provinces to pump out ponies at high speed... apparently these were all going to be their backup numbers for when they fight Kara and the rest of the characters in the real world." Rafael said.

"Let's head inside before she decides to pop up on us out here." Frank said, and the group began to head around the back of the castle.

"There's no pin pad... and the door is locked..." Elizabeth frowned. "Shall I make a tear and have us go in that way?"

Dr. Freeman approached the door, aiming his gravity gun at it and blasting it off without a word; not that he spoke, anyway. Everyone ducked as debris from the door shot everywhere, straightening up when the dust cleared.

Vergil pinched the bridge of his nose. "We're supposed to be doing this discreetly! Now the princess is sure to come straight here before we even get to the assembly lines!"

"Oh, like she hasn't heard the screeching deaths of this entire village already and hasn't stepped off her lofty pedestal!" Dante snapped at his brother.

Vergil growled lightly. "So let's just push our luck further... that's always a smart idea, let's just be impulsive like you always are, that's how you always get into trouble!"

"Guys, come on, we don't have time for this!" Claire cried. "We need to focus on what we're trying to fight here, not bicker with each other!"

"Yeah, save it for later." Chris said as they all headed inside to the assembly line rooms.

"Okay, here's the plan." Rafael said. "We're all going to go inside the assembly line room and destroy those, except for Samus. You are going to go to the small, oval window looking into the throne room. Standby, and when you get a good shot, blow her horn off. That's where she has control of her powers. We'll storm in when the assembly lines are dismantled."

Samus nodded. "Got it." She was about to leave when she felt someone take her hand, turning to see Veronica.

"Hey, um..." She quickly let go of her hand, clearing her throat. "Be careful."

Samus smiled and nodded. "I will be."

Frank smirked, looking through his camera. "That hand holding shot will look good for the photo album..." Veronica glanced at him, glaring a bit as she punched him in the gut. "Ow..."

"Stop fooling around, you guys." Oswald snapped. "The more time we stand around here, the more ponies are being manufactured."

The group headed into the assembly room, and there were already plenty of ponies inside. They attacked when the group entered, taking no time in doing so. It took some time to get through all of them before Victoria and Dr. Freeman destroyed the assembly lines.

Meanwhile, Samus quietly navigated through the corridors of the castle until she found the oval shaped window; just on the other side, the back of the throne with Princess Celestia sitting in it, writing some letters, could be seen. Samus noticed there were a half a dozen royal guards standing around the throne as well. She pursed her lips a bit.

"Hm... guess they don't have eyes in the back of their head..." She said to herself quietly. She set up, and kept focus; she would need to be extremely precise if this plan was to be executed successfully.

A few moments later, Celestia, as well as the royal guards, became alert when they heard a distant sound down the long room to the throne room doors. When the group stormed in, she gasped, sending the royal guards after them. Soon, royal guards that had been guarding other parts of the castle were called to help, and the group began slaughtering them one by one. They were a bit tougher than the regular ponies, so it took a bit longer to get through them. Once they did, Rafael aimed his gun right at Celestia's face, who stood there, narrowing her eyes.

"You've got two choices, your majesty." Rafael spat. "We know that you're holding this secret weapon here... the Elements of Harmony. Open the door and give them to us... and MAYBE we'll let you live. If you choose to be stubborn and don't cooperate... we're going to destroy you and whatever's left of this hell hole."

Celestia snorted lightly, raising a brow. "You think that you can defeat me? Trixie was only somewhat of a challenge because of her little amulet... she is nothing compared to me. Those are impressive weapons as well, I have to say... but, without them..." The team gasped as anyone who had firearms, swords, weapons of any kind, found their weapon being pulled from them, cast aside and out of reach. "You are defenseless."

"Sh-!" Rafael hissed as he, Dante, and Vergil all ran to retrieve the weapons at once. The rest of the team stood by, while S.H.O.D.A.N looked around for any metal to manipulate, not finding any good sources. Celestia whirled around, narrowing her eyes.

"So, who will get to them first, brother?" Dante laughed as he ran.

"Don't be so pompous, we have enemies to bring down!" Vergil shouted at him.

Dante reached the weapons first, grabbing a firearm to shoot down Celestia with. When he fired however, the bullet stopped in mid air, dropping to the ground. He furrowed his brows, and before anyone could react, Celestia levitated a sword, and Dante grit his teeth as it sliced into him from behind, unable to see the attack. Everyone looked on in shock, as ironically, the weapon that had just sealed his death was none other than his own brother's katana. It then came out of him, the sword being thrown across the room by Celestia's telekinesis and Dante fell to his knees.

"Damn it! Dante!" Rafael cried. "Vergil, get everyone's firearms back to them, I'll get the swords."

Vergil nodded, angry that the death of his brother had been sealed by someone other than himself. The two ran in a zig zag motion, and Celestia focused on Vergil, aiming a beam straight for him. He dodged some of them, but when one hit his leg, he fell forward. She nodded her head, and as the others ran to retrieve their weapons, shock hit them like a ton of bricks again as Celestia used her powers to make one of the automatic firearms go off, ripping dozens of bullets through Vergil and killing him instantly.

"Man, we haven't even made a DENT in this witch and she's already knocked off two from our party!" Marcus shouted.

"Come on, we can't give up!" Mickey shouted as he leaped into the air, deflecting her beams with his keyblade. Anyone with a firearm sent bullets flying, but it was all for naught, as she just created a shield with her telekinesis and the bullets pinged to the ground.

"This is doing NOTHING, there's got to be another way!" Chris shouted.

Frank narrowed his eyes, looking to the group. He glanced up at the oval window, knowing Samus was right behind it. But with Celestia facing away from her, there was no way she could get a clear shot of her horn. "Guys, cover me!" He shouted, gripping onto his camera tightly as he made his way past bullets and blades to the back of Celestia. "Hey, you royal pain in the rear!" Celestia whirled around, gritting her teeth at him. "Say cheese!" Before she could react, he snapped a photo, the flash blinding her for a few moments.

Samus saw Frank turn around and give her the thumbs up, and she gripped the sniper firmly, aiming for the horn and putting her finger on the trigger. As she pulled it, Celestia regained focus, screaming as glass shattered from all the windows, large shards hurling right for Frank from all directions. It wouldn't matter which way he ran or even if he tried to avoid them; it was inevitable, and they sliced through him, the camera clattered a few feet from him as he fell, groaning weakly as he slowly bled to death. However, his sacrifice would not be in vain; Celestia suddenly screeched painfully as a loud "CRACK!" was heard, something else clattering to the ground;

The tip of her horn, about four to five inches, rolled a bit on the ground and came to a stop.

"Frank!" Samus screamed from the window.

"NOW!" Rafael screamed. "Everything you've got!"

"Wait!" Elizabeth said. "We have to keep her alive... she needs to tell us where the elements are."

"Good point... nothing fatal!" Rafael shouted.

Raiden tossed Rafael a machete, and he used this as he joined with the others in circling around her, slicing and clubbing her with everything they had. However, though her powers were gone, she still had her super strength. She screeched as she grabbed for Cloud, but he was too fast, back flipping and landing swiftly on his feet. She knocked Alex backwards with her hind leg, knocking him into a wall.

"Alex!" Elizabeth cried, running to him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." He hissed as he sat up. "Just a bruise, I'm okay."

Meanwhile, Celestia's anger was boiling over, and she whirled around, some large gashes that she was unable to avoid sustaining dripping with fresh blood. She grabbed onto Dr. Gordon, screeching as she slammed him into the ground, and he was pinned, unable to move as she crushed his skull in.

"We can't afford to lose many more people, let's get this done already!" Veronica shouted.

Commander Shepherd moved in, sliding underneath Celestia and sliced a huge cut across her stomach. Celestia gasped shakily, falling to her knees before flopping over on her side, looking at the remaining party members fearfully. "Please... spare me..." She begged, her voice hoarse.

Rafael approached her, holding the machete to her face. "Are you going to talk now?"

Celestia swallowed thickly, inhaling deeply. "The elements... are not in the castle. The plan... was for you to look for them there, only to see... they are already gone."

"Where did you take them?" He asked.

"They... they are already in... the real world... I gave them to Twilight... for safe keeping."

Rafael swore under his breath, before returning his focus to the dying princess before him. "You know... we're going to be paying your sister a visit, next... I think she'll see first hand the downside of being a failed monarch."

"What... do you... mean...?" Celestia whimpered.

Rafael lifted the machete into the air. "That you're just a figurehead... you're the face of the kingdom now... but when it's off with your head... your kingdom falls with it."

Celestia's eyes widened. "No, no please-!"

Rafael waved the machete down, slicing Celestia's head clean off. He whipped the blood off of it before sheathing it. He stepped over her body, picking up Frank's camera and putting it into his back pack.

Ezio gathered the four fallen members of the team killed during this battle as Samus hopped down from the window. He gave them his blessing, sighing as he got to his feet. "Where to now?"

"To see Princess Luna in Cartoon Netopolis. We have a special delivery for her that doesn't need words to get the message across..." Rafael said as he held up Princess Celestia's head by her hair.

* * *

Turbo stood several feet from Rayne and I, not believing what he was seeing. "What... what's happening to-"

"Just stay back, Turbo, I don't know what's going on!" I shouted as I looked to Rayne. "Listen to me, you have to calm down!"

Rayne clutched her head, shutting her eyes tightly as fragments of images blossomed and darkened in her mind, not comprehending the nature or reasoning behind them, but they brought her great discomfort. They soon disappeared, and her heart rate, which had been erratic, slowed to almost nothing, as it had been. She slumped to the ground, gasping for air.

"This... wasn't supposed... to happen... never..." Rayne muttered.

"Turbo, go get King Candy." I said to him.

"Leave him out of this!" Rayne snapped.

"Rayne, if you want to know why this is happening to you, something about the argument you had with him triggered this. Maybe he's the only one wh can help you figure it out." I said to her.

She scowled, but finally gave a firm nod. "Very well. Fetch him."

"Hey, I'm not a DOG, sister!" Turbo growled, rolling his eyes as he went back out of the tent, walking across the camp ground where King Candy was curled up and sniffling in his own tent. "Get up, gorgeous, your prince of darkness needs you."

King Candy glanced over at him, pouting. "Oh, what'th the uthe? She'll never want me around!"

"Well, something's wrong with her heart and they need you to help them figure out what's wrong with it, or whatever." Turbo said.

King Candy's eyes widened, sitting up quickly and looking over at him. "There'th thomething wrong with her heart?" He speedily marched out of the tent, now deeply concerned. "Rayne, my sugar plum! I didn't mean what I thaid earlier, I'm tho thorry! Oh gumdropth, that have I done?"

Rayne narrowed her eyes at him. "Something that happened is making me resist the power of darkness... something I have allowed to flow through me for many years now... it is what drives me, what fuels me... it's all I know now." She glares at him. "Nothing can make me more powerful. If you want any chance of winning this battle, you make sure that I am stabilized."

"How can I do that?" King Candy asked, tilting his head.

She grabbed him by his collar, shaking him. "Stop whatever it is you're doing and just leave me alone!" She cast him down, making him land with an oof!

I looked outside, noticing that night was falling. "Okay, everyone needs to go get some rest... come on." We all returned to our tents, and I smiled tiredly at Turbo as I snuggled up to him.

"Tomorrow is it..." Turbo sighed, and I turned his face to look at me.

"We'll be fine." I smiled. "Knowing Rafael, he's kicking butt back in cartoonverse... without their back up, they'll just have to hope that what ever ranks they have here can handle what we have in store for them. This will give us a much better chance of winning."

"I still can't help but worry that they've got some tricks up their sleeve..." Turbo frowned.

I looked over, rolling my eyes playfully at Ralph snoring on the other side of me, Rosie curled up beside him. I elbowed Ralph a bit. "Ralph, roll over."

The wrecker mumbled a bit in his sleep, turning on his side and snuggling Rosie close to him. I turned back to address Turbo's last statement.

"Well, we've got some tricks up our own sleeves... I have no doubt that we have what it takes to overpower them." I gently kissed his forehead. "We should get some sleep... we'll need to rest up so we have enough energy to fight tomorrow."

"Yeah..." Turbo sighed, snuggling me as he closed his eyes, forcing sleep to take over him despite his worry.

* * *

After setting yet another village to flame and destruction, they approached a castle, different from Celestia's, in that it was darker in color scheme.

"This is starting to get repetitive." Adam noted.

"Yeah well, whatever it is, it still has to get done. We have to hurry and get to the others in the real world before THAT battle starts." Oswald replied.

Rafael was looking through Frank's camera, at pictures he had taken during the battles up until he died. While he was doing that, Rex flickered his ears, hearing someone speaking quite loudly from inside the castle. He whined a bit , pawing at Elizabeth's leg.

"Not very discreet, is she...?" Claire said, looking inside one of the windows where she could see her inside, speaking to her own royal guards, colored darkly like her. She whips her head towards the window, causing the girls to quickly move away from the window, and Rex to duck down, growling lowly with his ears pinned back.

"Come on, fellas... Cloud and I searched the back of the castle and there's no way in. We'll have to defeat Luna before we destroy the assembly lines. I doubt she'll recruit them to attack us now, they'll have to save some for their original purpose of being back up ranks for the battle in the real world." Mickey said.

"True..." Rafael nodded. "Alright. Let's head in."

Samuel kicked the front doors in, and they were immediately met with Luna's royal guards, the group taking a bit of time getting through them, making their way to her throne room.

S.H.O.D.A.N narrowed her eyes as she electrocuted the last royal guard, looking to the others. "Lun-na can control weather-r, can she no-ot?"

"From what we know, she can... to what extent, I'm not sure. For a perfect being, you can't even stand up to something as harmless as water... how do you plan on subjugating organic matter, again?" Raiden said to her.

S.H.O.D.A.N glared at him, and stayed behind as the others made their way to the throne room. They noticed it was dark... not pitch black, but dark enough for those without night vision abilities to have a bit of a hard time seeing clearly. To make matters worse, there was a thick, heavy mist floating around the room. The team tensed up a bit and griped their weapons tighter with anticipation when they heard a voice speak to them, loud, booming, echoing through the room; but the source of the voice could not be seen.

"Welcome, to our magnificent castle... is it not the most incredible thing you have ever seen? What a privilege you have to be granted, to see such excellence in your last moments." The voice said.

Rafael narrowed his eyes underneath his mask, taking Celestia's head out of his back pack and holding it up. "We're here to make a special delivery... look familiar? If you play nice, maybe we'll go a bit easier on you." He said, throwing the head onto the ground where it rolled a couple of feet towards Luna's throne.

"Hm... impressive indeed... thou art stronger and more skilled than we perceived... in fact, we should thank you for ending our sister's life... however, she was one of our strongest fighters... the herd truly benefited from her efforts. Anyhow, it's no use to even attempt fighting us. You will all join us, either way... we can make it easier for you if you surrender... or you will suffer in the meantime."

"We will never join you!" Claire shouted, gripping her hand gun. "We're not quitters here, so just come out and fight us!"

"Ah... we shall, my dear, in time... but first, being you will suffer the same fate anyway... we will show you something we have in store for not only you, but your silly little friends in the real world, also... once you see, you will not question the magic again..."

"I have had enough of this crap..." Veronica muttered, exhaling shakily as she gripped her pistol tightly. "We have to end this..."

Booker heard something moving behind him, drawing Elizabeth closer to him as he pointed his gun towards the movement.

"Father... who is that...?" Elizabeth asked. "Who is it, father?"

Out from the darkness, slow footsteps were heard as the group backed up a bit, eyes fixed at the individuals coming out from the shadows. When they stepped into the moonlight pouring in from the windows, the mist around them dispersing, the group fell completely silent, not believing what they were seeing. It was unfathomable, incomprehensible...

It was the six fallen members of their team... Biker, Jacket, Frank, Vergil, Dante, and Dr. Gordon... all ponified... now a part of the herd, and under its control.

"You... have got... to be kidding me." Rafael groaned, his arms falling to his sides.

* * *

**... yes, my friends. We may as well make this a creepypasta. The most frightening thing to ever happen to a character in the history of history has happened here. When you look someone up on google and see a ponyfied version of them... there's always at least one picture... it sends a chill down my spine, for they are slowly taking over. Will our team be able to make it past Luna and salvage the rest of their team? Stay tuned, readers, the heat is going to turn WAY up next chapter. I hope you enjoyed, and please please please review. Thank you! :D**


	19. A Growing Concern

**Hello again, dear readers! It's time for another exciting chapter, and I promise, this will have you finding yourselves once again at the edge of your seats (or whatever it is you're sitting on.) Sorry for the long wait, but after a long work week, it's time to get back on track! We're getting ever closer to great character battle, so hang on tight and, as I always advise, please enjoy! :D**

* * *

The team looked on as the six fallen members of their team, now ponyfied, slowly approached them, prepared to attack.

"The hell are we supposed to do now?!" Cole exclaimed.

"We have no choice, we have to kill them." Rafael replied.

"But... but they're a part of our team, we have to save them-" Claire started.

"If we try to save them, WE may get killed in the process and just make things worse by becoming what THEY are! We don't know how this is being done, and coming from the game you come from, you should be the first to know that once something's changed there's no saving them!" Kratos shouted.

Claire furrowed her brows, sighing. "He's right."

The team readied their weapons, and it didn't take long to murder their once valiant comrades. Once the six ponies lay dead on the floor, Veronica fell to her knees, breathing heavily as Luna's laughter echoed throughout the room.

"This is it..." Veronica muttered, running a hand through her hair. "More of us are just going to die before this is over... and the more of us die... the more of us just become a part of this... this damn hive mind!" She gripped her pistol tightly, holding it up to her head shakily.

"Hey, hey come on, stop that!" Alex exclaimed. "If you blow your brains out we have one less person to help us KILL these things!"

"At least maybe I won't become one of them!" Veronica screamed. "Who knows, maybe we'll all start turning into them without even realizing it until it's too late!"

"Veronica, no!" Samus exclaimed. "Listen to me, we can fight this, we can beat it, this isn't the way!"

"What happens if we can't?! We've got almost no ammo left and we're not even nearly close to finishing this mission. We've already lost six people and who knows how many more we'll lose by the time we're even out of THIS province!" Veronica bit her lip.

"Look, I know that was hard. It was really hard. Do you think it was easy for me to look those guys in the eye and pull the trigger? I know how this feels, Veronica, our whole game is centered around that." Chris said, referring to himself and Claire. "But we have to survive to save the ones we still have."

"I'm not turning into one of those things!" Veronica screamed, her thumb flicking the safety off with a click. "If they don't kill me, they won't be able to use me!"

"And if you just kill yourself, you won't be able to fight them, either!" Rafael exclaimed. "Please Veronica, I know this has been really messed up, and it's been one thing after another, but you have to stick with us, we're a team."

"I'm sorry... but this is the only way... this is the only way we can help our friends now... we came into this hell hole and we're not getting out... just like they aren't getting out..." She motioned to the six dead bodies. "I'm not gonna suffer like they did. I don't care if I'm a coward... but this is it. There's nothing left."

Samus felt her heart skip a beat as she saw Veronica's finger move to the trigger of her pistol. She inhaled sharply, throwing off her helmet. "Veronica, stop!" She screamed, hurrying to her as she threw her arms around her, losing herself as she did something she never imagined herself doing in her entire life.

She kissed her.

Samus never believed she would fall in love, she always had something else to focus on... a mission, staying in shape, surviving... but falling in love? It hit her like a ton of bricks, and the moment that Veronica threatened to pull the trigger, she knew then and there that she would do anything, even give her life, for her. Veronica froze, unable to comprehend what was happening, perhaps even more so than the rest of the team staring at them. Her thumb shakily switched the safety back on her pistol, her arm slowly placing it on the ground as her arms coiled around Samus, returning her kiss with equal need. This bliss felt like it lasted forever, and the moment it was broken, time existed once more as they looked into each other's eyes.

"S- Samus..." Veronica breathed. "I... I didn't... I mean, I... everyone knows I like... but I didn't know... I didn't want to... to make you feel uncomfortable, and-"

"I didn't know either, I... I never really thought about who I liked and who I didn't... but... when you were going to... I just... something happened in... in my chest, my heart was racing... I, I knew then that..." Samus stuttered.

"... I just wished I could tell you that I..."

"... I love you." They said in unison, and the two looked at each other, smiling. They took each other's hand as they helped each other to their feet. They heard someone chuckle, looking over to see Rafael looking through Frank's camera at pictures he had taken of the scene that had just played out. They both glared at him, and Rafael smiled.

"Nothing to see here, ladies... just carry on." He said.

Veronica looked around, her expression becoming weary as Luna's laugh echoed throughout the large room. "We still have this problem... how are we going to get out of this...?"

"Together, that's how." Rafael loaded his gun, turning to her. "We're gonna send these abominations to hell."

"Now that sounds like a challenge!" Luna's voice was heard, cackling as the mist began to swirl and consolidate into her physical form. "We were wondering when you would stop chattering like fools! You've only delayed your inevitable deaths!"

"Speak for yourself!" Alex shouted as he and Raiden charged in, slicing through her hair that she could extend, which had similar properties to her in her mist form. Cole, Marcus, Samus and Booker cover fired for them, but Luna was quick, disappearing into mist and reappearing out of it.

"Ugh..." Cloud sighed with frustration. "She's too fast, none of us can keep up with her! We can't get her this way!"

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes a bit, watching Luna's movements with great concentration. "Just try to keep her at bay!" She shouted. "If I can focus on her for long enough, I can get her to stay in one place!"

"You got it, sister!" Alex replied, and they all covered Elizabeth so she could concentrate. It took several anxious minutes, but when Elizabeth finally saw the opportunity, she narrowed her eyes, focusing her energy on Luna.

"Please, work..." She muttered to herself, and she exhaled a breath of relief when Luna was suspended in the air, the royal pony furrowing her brow as she realized she could not move. The characters with swords all hastily sliced her up, and she cried out in agony, unable to defend herself. They all then landed on their feet, Mickey and Oswald removing their hoods as they all sheathed their blades. Elizabeth released her hold on Luna, and the sliced up pony emitted an ear piercing screech as she burst into a cloud of blood and body parts, splattering it all over the floor and the walls.

"Ugh, gross!" Claire exclaimed, trying to wipe herself off.

Samus smiled, looking to Veronica. "See? We're one step closer. We can do it."

Veronica smiled back, nodding and putting an arm around Samus.

* * *

Pinkie Pie tapped her hoof impatiently. "WHERE is our backup? They should have been here an hour ago at dawn! We haven't gotten any letters from Princess Celestia either! Twilight, have you heard anything?"

"No... I can see if there is a problem, or if Spike is too busy." She replied.

"Hurry up then! I want to set up our ranks but the backup's taking too long to get here!" Pinkie shouted.

Twilight nodded, taking to flight as she returned to cartoonverse, touching ground in cancelville. She looked around, noticing it was completely abandoned, as was Bluthtown, which was just on the other side of the border.

"They should have started demolishing this already to make storage... what is going on here?" Twilight said to herself, taking to flight again as she made her way to Hubville. When she sees the fires and destruction, she gasps, her eyes darting as she lands roughly, hurriedly going inside what is left of the large factory unit. "Spike! Spike!" She calls out, but sees no sign of him. Her eyes widen at all the dead ponies laying around. "What have they done... I have to alert Princess Celestia! She will destroy anyone who tries to harm the herd..." She quickly made her way to where she had been situated, but saw that this province too, was destroyed. "No..." She breathed, hurrying into the castle ruins, and had to shove the throne door open, grunting as fallen debris had fallen right against the door, making it harder to open. "Princess Celestia, where are you?" She called out, searing the large room for her. When she saw the fallen royal pony; without a head, no less... she fell to her knees, crawling over to Celestia's remains. She failed to comprehend what had happened, there was just no logical way this could have occurred, their defenses were flawless... her expression darkened as she knelt over Celestia's body, before throwing her head back, emitting a wrathful shriek. "I will destroy the ones who dd this... yes, I will make them pay... the magic will make them forget everything they were, and become one with the herd... they will destroy their friends as they destroyed us... they'll see, they'll see!" She took to flight, hastily returning to the real world to report to Pinkie Pie the terrible news.

* * *

It was a few hours after dawn break, and I slowly opened my eyes as the toon defenses were getting equipped and in their places. I gently woke Turbo, who took his hands in mine, and we exchanged an unsure glance at each other, neither of us sure how today would turn out. We could only hope that we had an upper hand with Rafael's efforts, and that he was successfully accomplishing his mission back in cartoonverse. Rosie, Ralph, Calhoun and Felix were all waking up too, and we all hugged each other once we got ready.

"We can do this." Rosie smiled nervously. "We have a lot of really great characters on our side. It will be hard... but not impossible."

"Yeah... everyone just needs to stay focused, and keep on your toes." I replied.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm having some fried pony for breakfast." Calhoun smirked, loading her firearm as we all chuckled, heading out of the tent.

Outside, all the characters were getting everything together and I approached Jack Skellington. "Is the first assault ready?"

"Oh yes, all ready! It'll scare the pants off those pesky little ponies!" He grinned.

"The flight force is ready for takeoff." Lelouch said as he approached me.

"Good." I nodded. "Vanellope, how is the speed team doing?"

"They're all filled up and ready to roll!" She piped, smiling.

Just then, I felt someone behind me, turning to see Rayne levitating. "So... this should be interesting... once again I grace your forces with my presence... you would be nothing without me."

I roll my eyes. "Just get ready with the others... and don't ANNOY anyone, please."

"Pfft. Me, annoying? I provoke fear, darling. Hardly the same thing."

"I see you're back to your old self..." I replied.

"Well... I have to be. What good would I be if I wasn't like this?" She said, floating away until a certain monarch bumped into her, sipping on a milkshake.

"Oh... h- hello, Rayne..." King Candy said, clearing his throat. "Ready for battle?"

"Yes, I am. You, however, are less so."

"Well... got to have one latht shake before we thtart, right? Keep our sugar levelth up..."

Rayne shook her head, narrowing her eyes. "You honestly think you are worthy for me? You won't last five minutes out there... and if you expect me to save you... you are gravely mistaken. I have not one care for you."

King Candy frowned lightly. "But... you had felt thomething... you-"

Rayne growled lightly, bending down so she was eye to eye with him. "I feel NOTHING... you understand? NOTHING. Do you see how pained you are because of my rejection? How it weakens you? I do not allow myself to succumb to the lie of love. It does not truly exist. There is no such as thing as true love, and happiness is a pathetic excuse for those who believe in it to keep living. It is not based on anything except for foolish hope. Hope of something that is bound to always fail." She touched her feet to the ground, storming off away from him.

I was speaking to some of the characters, when I heard the White Rabbit stuttering behind me, tugging on my pant leg. "What's the matter, White Rabbit?" I asked.

"They're approaching! The enemies are approaching!" He shouted, bouncing up and down.

My eyes widened. "This is it, everyone! In positions, now! Ready the first assault for release!" I stood, glancing at Turbo, who gave me a nod. I looked to the characters, determined. "We fight for our loved ones... we fight for our homes and our communities, we fight for each other... and most of all, we fight for our identities, and our existence! We fight for who we all are! We are all unique and we will show those ponies they can NOT take away who we are!"

All the characters, thousands upon thousands, cheered as Pinkie Pie approached... with the other main six, as well as their pony army, humans, G.I. Joe team, and the earth shook as the Transformers approached some distance behind, towering over everyone. I turned to face them, ready to fight for everyone I loved, everyone I lived for...

Everyone I existed for.

* * *

The team had spent quite some time getting through the pony communities in construction within the Disneyverse province. But now, it was time for their final challenge here in cartoonverse, to face the freak of nature Discord, assigned to oversee this province by the main six.

"Man, this is going to be easy!" Cole said. "S.H.O.D.A.N said he has pretty much ZERO physical attacks! This is the huge battle everyone was so scared of?"

"Don't be over confident. Just because he has little physical ability does not mean he doesn't make up for it in some other way. We have to be just as careful and calculating as with any other foe." Oswald advised. "Let's head inside."

"Once we bring this monster down, and blow up this last factory, we can use any remaining C4s on the rest of the province." Adam noted.

This factory had a darker feel than the ones before fighting the princesses, which was no surprise. There was no sneaking around or use of stealth this time; Elizabeth deactivated the pin pad, and kicked the door in as they entered. The remaining nineteen members were ready to be done with this, but they had no idea what was to come. As they finished filing in, the door behind them closed, shrouding them in darkness. S.H.O.D.A.N illuminated herself so there was SOME source of light. The space was suddenly filled with the sound of low, sinister laughter.

"Ah, so you've managed to take the lives of those silly royals, have you? The lot of you are quite persistent, I'll give you that..." Discord chuckled. "Now tell me, did you lose anyone along the way? It's alright, you can tell me, it'll be our little secret!"

"Don't tell him anything..." Rafael muttered.

"Oh, well that's quite rude of you! Coming into MY domain and not answering a simple question? Too bad..." Discord answered.

"This is NOT your domain!" Claire shouted. "This was something YOU took away from someone else!"

"Claire, don't provoke it..." Chris whispered to her.

"Clever, clever, dear girl... I'll tell you what... I'm going to make a deal with all of you. I will not lay a hand on any of your little heads... not one, until you lay one strike upon me. That's right... I'm letting you all have the first move. Now, I'm not so evil after all, am I? The game starts, when you want it to."

Mickey grit his teeth. "This was MY province you took!" He shouted. "All of my citizens, my family, me... they are left without a home! It's been destroyed; erased! I will not stop until I get it back, until my citizens are safe once again!"

"Well, little mouse... I should very much like to see just HOW you plan on doing that!" Discord chuckled.

"Stop being such a 'hero,' Mickey... we both know when we come out of this everyone is going to praise YOU as usual so stop talking like you're some kind of good guy when I was left to rot!" Oswald shouted.

Mickey looked at his brother, shocked. "Oswald, this isn't the time to be arguing over petty things!" Mickey exclaimed.

"Petty? Petty?!" Oswald growled. "You think me living in that hell hole you call cancelville for DECADES is PETTY?!" He screamed, and he dove at Mickey, trying to strangle him.

Elizabeth ran over to the two, scooping up Oswald and he thrashed in her arms. "Stop it! Both of you, stop it this instant!"

Alex strode over, helping her separate the two Disney characters. "Guys, come on, save the sibling rivalry for AFTER we fry the giant lizard."

Cole scoffed, rolling his eyes at Alex. "Is it just me... or are you getting a bit too close to Elizabeth?"

"... What the hell is that supposed to mean, McGrath?" Alex replied. "Are you implying something?"

"Oh, no, Mercer... just thought that since you've already made buddy buddies with her dad and everything, that you're one step away from getting her la-"

"DON'T... you even go there, you sparking, spastic little light bulb, I will slice you to bits!"

"HEY!" Victoria shouted. "All of you shut the hell up, we're wasting time here!"

Samuel shook his head. "This is pointless. How anyone thought this group of idiots could be a team is beyond me. There is no way we'll complete the mission at this rate."

Raiden glanced at him. "Well... we all made it this far... do you think this foe is too great for you? Do you doubt your own ability to succeed?"

"At least I'm not the one who got captured and experimented on!" Samuel snapped.

"And I'm not the one who joined my enemies because the boss cut my arm off!" Raiden shouted back.

"Oh, you wanna talk about getting arms cut off now? How about our first fight when I nearly killed you on that train? If it weren't for your boss on that turret, you wouldn't have survived!" Samuel growled.

"Well, I still came out victorious in the end, jetstream! And I can do it again!"

"Oh, is that so, Jack the Ripper? Let's go, then!" Samuel shouted as he charged for Raiden, metal clashing against metal as they fought.

Claire's eyebrows furrowed, exhaling sharply as she shook her head in confusion. She turned, seeing a pair of eyes in the dark, disappearing in a flicker when she looked over. She knew Discord was doing something, feeding into the prior tensions between the group members and adding fuel to the embers. She looked over at Chris.

"Stay back here. I have to stop this." She said.

"Claire, you are not going to throw yourself into a middle of all the fighting!" Chris exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Chris... but if we stay together too long, you and I may get into it. Do as I say." She said, and she ran towards the others who were fighting.

"Claire! CLAIRE!" Chris shouted, looking around helplessly.

Cloud had taken to separating Mickey and Oswald while Elizabeth and Booker pleaded with Alex and Cole to calm down.

"Father, try to find the monster, I'll handle them!" She called to Booker.

"I am not letting you handle this alone, you could get hurt!" Booker replied.

"I'll be alright, I promise."

Cole dodged Alex trying to stab him with his spikes, using his amp to attack. He was about to electrocute Alex, when Elizabeth pushed Cole, and she gasped, guilt washing over her as he shocked Commander Shepherd. Jane emitted a painful scream, unable to avoid dodging the shock as she fell to the ground limply, motionless. Cole grit his teeth, grabbing Elizabeth and holding the amp up to her, narrowing his eyes. "Give it up, Mercer... you try to attack me, your little girlfriend gets it!"

"She's not..." Alex growled. "Keep her the hell out of this, you coward! Come at ME!"

"Let her go." Booker said with a calm but serious tone, clicking off the safety of his pistol as he pointed it at Cole from behind.

Cole realized the position he was in, taking a moment to think. He suddenly shoved Elizabeth at Alex, who caught and held her with one arm, and Cole whirled around, about to electrocute Booker.

"Father! NO!" Elizabeth cried.

Booker stumbled back and fell as Cole neared him, charging his amp. Booker squeezed his eyes shut, knowing this was the end. At least his little girl was safe, and Alex had proven himself to watch over her, protect her. He heard the sound of Cole gasping, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that Alex had used one of his spikes to impale Cole's chest, lifting him in the air. Booker used this time to compose himself as Alex grit his teeth angrily, using a second spike to impale Cole's head. He then retracted them, and the moment his body hit the floor, Ale instantly felt deep regret for what had happened, but knew he at least saved Booker.

"Thank you, Alex Mercer... for saving us. We owe you our lives." Booker said, smiling lightly and nodding.

"Well, that would be great if we even have them in the next five minutes... come on. We have a lizard to fry." Alex said.

Raiden and Samuel continued to battle tirelessly, and Claire ran up to them. "Hey! Guys, we have to save our energy for fighting Discord! Can't you see what is happening here?!"

Meanwhile, Rafael joined with Chris and S.H.O.D.A.N in searching out Discord, very difficult to do so even with the low light provided by the floating A.I. Each time they spotted him, he would swiftly giggle and run off, and Chris swore under his breath as he took out a new mag.

"Damn it... I can't get a clear shot." Rafael muttered.

"Neither can I. Come on, we have to keep trying before everyone kills each other!" Chris exclaimed.

Raiden glanced over at Claire, growling lowly. "Keep out of this, this is OUR problem." He then blocked an attack from Samuel, gritting his teeth.

"It's all of our problem if you two kill each other before we kill Discord! Please, just listen to-"

Samuel shoved Raiden back, before he growled, and Claire emitted a small squeak as he stabbed her abdomen, her eyes wide as she cried in pain. "Your whining is annoying me. You were stupid to try to stop us."

Cloud, who had been keeping Mickey and Oswald from dueling, sensed something was terribly wrong as everything seemed to slow down. His eyes widened when he witnessed Claire being stabbed, and the painful memory of watching Aerith meeting her end by Sephiroth's blade replayed in his mind as she fell to her knees. He tossed the two Disney characters aside, and Kratos, who had been helping to search for Discord, glanced at him before picking the two up, raising a brow at them.

"Claire..." Cloud whispered as he caught her. "Claire, don't struggle... relax..."

She looked up at Cloud, breathing shakily. "C- Cloud... I... I come from a game where... I'm always... so close to death... it's... all around me... but... it's ironic that... I die this way... I've fought... horrible monsters... unpredictable... dangerous..."

Cloud held her face. "Claire, I'm not going to let you die. I'm going to help you recover, and we will make it out of this."

"Cloud... the stab wound... it's... too deep. There's... no way..."

"Stop... don't say that. Please, I'm not going to lose you, I won't lose you again, Aerith!" He cried, and he furrowed his brows, looking down and widened his eyes when he saw Aerith where Claire had been, and everyone else was gone as she sat up.

_Cloud... I know I will always be in your heart... as you are in mine. We cannot change the past... and you cannot blame yourself for what happened anymore. Don't close your heart to keep me safely locked away. Open your heart... set me free so you can see me in everything good that exists. Let me into the light... instead of trapped in the darkness. Fill your heart with light... if you can open your heart to her... she can be saved. We can both be saved. _

Cloud exhaled shakily as the chaos returned around him, and Claire stared into his eyes weakly. His heartbeat began to quicken, pounding in his ears as he leaned down, cupping her face as he kissed her. A light glowed from them, and as Claire's wound began to heal, she closed her eyes and held him close, a union among all of the breaking bonds around them.

Raiden cried out as he shoved Samuel back, who winced as he held his head, bleeding a bit. Raiden approached him, lifting up his blade to make the killing strike, when he hissed in pain, the sword dropping from his hand as he observed the bullet grazed dent in his metal hand. Samuel scrambled to grab the blade, but another gun shot threatening to injure him as well stopped him in his tracks. They both looked to its source, to see Rafael sheathing his pistol.

"Both of you, get up, and stop fighting each other. We've already lost two people and nearly lost a third! Get a grip!" He shouted, turning towards the darkened circle lacking the dimly lit lighting. "I'm going to end this, and end it now." He looked to Kratos, still holding Mickey and Oswald, both who had mostly just tired themselves out. "Kratos. Hand them to Adam for the time being." Kratos nodded silently, handing them to Adam who just rolled his eyes. "Now... I need the Head of Helios. Everyone! Shades on!" This was the secret queue the team had discussed to use when the Head of Helios would be used, so as to not alert the enemy as well for the upcoming attack. Everyone shielded their eyes as instructed.

Discord chuckled lowly in the darkness as he roamed about, encircling them. "One by one, whether you be large or small... each of you shall fight to the death, each of you, shall fall..."

"The hell we will, you snake..." Rafael muttered, taking out the Head of Helios, holding it up so the room was suddenly filled with a blinding light. Discord cried out, his eyes tearing up as he writhed, clawing at them as the light burned and blinded him, unable to see anything. Rafael threw the head down, crying out as he located Discord, running over to him and kicking him hard in the face to keep him down. Discord growled, trying to swipe at Rafael with his one clawed arm, and in his adrenaline pumping state, Rafael grit his teeth, grabbing onto the scrawny, mismatched arm and tearing it right off. He then grabbed one of his legs, holding it up and stomping his foot down to snap it like a twig. Discord cried out painfully, pleading for Rafael to stop as he proceeded to break the other leg. He then grabbed Discord's jaw so he could look at him, slowly taking off his mask. "You were prepared to hide here in the dark, watching us all make a blood bath of ourselves... you are the most pathetic of all the villains were fought, because you don't even show yourself and fight. You are a coward, you hide in the dark, and you will not die honorably today. You will not die in valiant hand-to-hand combat. And I will show you no mercy or spare you any suffering." He then grit his teeth, prying Discord's head open, biting his lip as the most awful guttural noises came out of the deformed creature, finally silenced when a loud cracking was heard, and Rafael had split Discord's upper jaw from the bottom, his tongue flopped out as the top half of his head hung limply from the rest of him.

The remaining living group members looked around as the lights flickered on, and all were silent for several moments as they encircled the now dead Discord.

"We have to nuke this place. The assembly lines are still running in the back." Samus said.

Elizabeth furrowed a brow when she heard something, turning and gasping. The dead bodies of Cole and Jane Shepherd were starting to twitch a bit, changing into ponies. "We have to get out of here now!"

Ezio was quietly whispering his chant he had said over the other dead members from where he was standing, but his eyes widened a bit when the doors to the assembly rooms began to open. "We are going to be ambushed!"

"Alright, here's the plan!" Rafael shouted. "Adam, plant those C4s as quickly as possible. Elizabeth, when he's finished, make a tear and I'll set off the detonator as we're running out of it. Got it? Now move, move!" Adam nodded, moving with haste to plant the C4s all around the large room in the facility. The sound of many ponies giggling was nearing them as the two fallen team members were transforming, and when he signaled that everything was ready, Elizabeth concentrated as she made a tear. Everyone hurried through, and Adam tossed Rafael the detonator. He caught it, waited for everyone to get through safely, and narrowed his eyes when the now ponified Cole and Jane moved towards him. "Sorry guys... but see you in hell." He pressed the detonator, quickly running through the tear as a huge explosion erupted from behind him, and Elizabeth sealed the tear before debris and fire could come through. The group was now standing a quarter mile away from the factory, fire and smoke reaching sky high as the rest of the ponified province was destroyed. Rafael exhaled sharply, turning to the others. "It's done..." He sighed. "Now... let's hope this will secure us a win in the real world."

* * *

**Wow. Take a few minutes for this one, readers. This was an incredibly hard chapter to write, and thanks to my friend for all your help, this chapter would never have been completed without you. If you thought this was a lot to take, we still have the battle in the real world, and that hasn't even begun yet. Will they too be successful? Find out in the next update, and thank you everyone for your patience. See you next time! :)**


	20. A Fight to the Death

**Greetings, readers! After another long work week, I have taken the time today to sit down and write the next exciting chapter! The battle is about to begin, and I promise it will leave you on the edge of your seats! Are you ready? If so, then without further ado, read and enjoy! :D**

* * *

I strode forth, alone, determined, ready. As I did so, Pinkie Pie came forth from the opposite direction, the two queens of the chessboard meeting before the battle was to begin. I inhaled sharply as we both stopped several feet from each other.

"Maybe this is the last time I have to see your stupid face popping up in places you don't belong." I said to her, narrowing my eyes.

Pinkie smirked. "I should say the same for you and your friends." She replied. "So many times the world rejected us... and now, we've finally put the world in its rightful place."

"Not yet you haven't. You'll have to get through me first to do that."

"That can be arranged." Her expression darkened then. "You may have sent your little friends to destroy my backup... but if they lost any members along the way, they'll see that even if your forces are strong, that it won't matter once we get through to all of you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"You'll see, in time. You'll all succumb to the magic the easy way, or the hard way. No one can escape the herd... and when you're the only one left, when everyone's not on your side anymore... you'll have nothing left to fight for."

"There's always something I can fight for." I said.

"What's that?" Pinkie asked.

"To destroy vile things like you." I said, inhaling sharply.

"Fine. We'll see who is destroyed when this is over." Pinkie said, and she turned to head back to her ranks, while I headed back to mine.

When I returned, everyone looked up to me, anticipation beating in everyone's hearts. There was one thing that Pinkie Pie at least informed me of.

Rafael's mission in cartoonverse had been a success.

Before I could think on what she said too much, I suddenly heard someone call out to me. I looked up, seeing Rafael move through the crowd and that most of the members of his team had returned. We joined in a tight hug, and I sighed with relief.

"Thank goodness you're alright... did you lose many in your party?" I asked.

"A few... but we did what we had to do. It should make your job here a bit easier. When's the battle going to start?" Rafael asked.

"Everyone's in position now... if you need to rest and recover, to go the campground with your party. I have to go lead the ranks."

"Okay, but Kara, there's something I need to tell you... in cartoonverse, when-"

"You'll have to tell me later Rafa, we have to move forward. Just rest for now and join the ranks when you're ready." I said as I headed to the front.

"But Kara, wait, there's something you have to-!" Rafael sighed, biting his lip. "... to know..."

Turbo approached me, giving me a hug and looking into my eyes. "I'm gonna head over with Vanellope... just, be careful, okay?"

I nodded, returning his hug. "You too."

Ralph and Felix stood on either side of Calhoun in the army ranks, and Felix looked up at his wife, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. Calhoun looked down at him and smiled lightly.

"Ready, partner?" She asked.

"As ready as I'll be..." Felix smiled.

"All communication is online." Dib said, typing on his computer. "Dexter, Mandark, keep those serums coming, we'll need as many to supply as possible. Dr. Nefario, make sure Gru keeps Princess Bubblegum covered in case she needs to administer more serum to the ranks. Dr. Finkelstein, keep those skeleton army ranks coming!"

I kept watch, and soon, Pinkie Pie and her ranks were about a quarter mile from us.

"Changelings!" Queen Chrysalis hissed. "You will kill all the toons and their human leaders or you will die trying! Leave none alive as per Pinkie Pie's orders! The world is ours for the taking!"

"Griffins! Pegusi! Take all the airships down, even if you have to sacrifice yourselves!" Rainbowdash shouted.

"Everyone get ready to fight!" Pinkie Pie shrieked, her eyes crazed. "All of them will belong to the herd soon enough..." She whispered. "Get ready!"

I looked back. "Everyone, prepare for the first assault! On my command! Team Blue Storm, stand by for nuclear strike!"

Pinkie Pie smirked darkly, twitching a bit. "Send the first wave of humans! NOW!"

As I watched thousands upon thousands of converted humans begin to run crazily towards us in a horde, Mordecai held his arm up. "Hold the line... hold the line... hold the line...!"

"MORDECAI!" Rigby screamed.

"Okay, okay, now!"

"NOW!" I screamed. "Courage, run as fast as those little legs can carry you! Jack, have the cages opened!"

"Go forth, my ghoulish friends, scare their pants off!" Jack Skellington called out as he grinned, chuckling to himself.

Courage the cowardly dog emitted his signature shriek as he ran for dear life towards the crazed humans under the control of the ponies, those who had not been assimilated into an official war rank, and all the large cages containing cartoons too hostile to live among general populations, such as those in the Land of Creepypasta, were released, and Courage was used to bait them towards the humans so they wouldn't attack any of OUR ranks. As soon as Courage was close enough so that he wouldn't be mauled by the humans, and that the hostile toons and creatures would be instead targeting the humans running at them, Dumbo swiftly swooped down, grabbing Courage with his trunk and placing him on his back, airlifting him back to safety. Courage stopped screaming, wiping his brow and then patting Dumbo's head lightly in gratitude.

Pinkie Pie grit her teeth as she watched the hostile toons tear through her first wave of assault. "Twilight, send out the army ranks! Airforce, everything!"

Twilight nodded. "Army ranks, in position! Airforce, get ready for liftoff!"

I saw them readying the rest of their ranks. "Alright everyone, this is it! Lock and load!"

As the rest of the humans in the war ranks readied, they began to roll out their tanks and fire upon the hostile toons. They had done their job, but with G.I Joe and his team leading the army, they could only do so much damage as they started to be taken down one by one. The Transformers began to ready themselves as well, trudging forth along with the other ranks. Optimus Prime, unable to be influenced by Parasite Eve's mitochondria, unloaded a number of bullets into her abdomen, and she began to become undone as she fell, covering a large area as she deteriorated into a pile of orange goop.

As the army ranks moved forth, Calhoun, along with her men and all the other toons that were suited up with firearms, proceeded first as they unloaded their firepower. All the other toons on the ground without firepower were directed to fight the remaining unarmed humans and the ponies.

"All aircraft, to the skies now! Air flyers, keep the pegusi from dismantling our ships!" Lelouch shouted.

"Alright bud, you know what to do!" Hiccup shouted to Toothless. They ascended into the air, dodging shots coming from aircraft coming from all the world's airforces. Toothless, along with the other dragons from Berk and along with Spyro's group, sought out the pegusi and prepared to strike. Ash was flying on the back of his Charizard, focused.

"Charizard, flamethrower attack now!" He shouted, and Charizard sent a few pegusi cascading towards the earth in flames.

As for the aircraft, they shot bullets and torpedoes at each other, flying with speed and agility in the struggle to take each other down. Pegusi helped the opposing side by either flying themselves into their propellers to jam them, sacrificing themselves, or they would land in swarms on the aircraft and try to tear open a hole in the roof and proceed to assault anyone inside. The dragons and airborne pokemon attacked the pegusi as they saw them to prevent this from happening as much as possible, their attacks stronger than the pegusi. But between the high numbers of them and the Griffins, they had a lot to get through.

On the ground, Rayne slithered in her 2D form through the chaotic fighting. She spotted a converted human about to blow up a group of toons with a bazooka, but she quickly came out of 2D form from behind him, breaking his neck. Another human turned, about to fire at her when she grabbed the gun, and the human accidentally shot another human behind her, and she kicked him down, cracking his skull open with the gun. As others tried to fire at her, she slipped down into 2D form again, coming up from behind another, entering his body to control him. The human now possessed by her grinned wickedly as she willed him to shoot surrounding humans, laughing when they fell.

"I bet you I can kill more than you can!" Finn shouted to his best companion, Jake.

"Game on, bro!" Jake replied, increasing in size as he smashed groups of ponies and changelings. Finn sliced and diced through them with his sword, the two counting out loud to keep track of who was ahead of the game.

All the vehicles in the Road Kill Squad were equipped with torpedo like mechanisms on either side of their cars that would shoot out Gru's minions that had been treated with the impenetrable serum. Turbo revved up his engine as he joined dozens of other car bound toons part of the squad.

"Roger, press the button to shoot!" Benny shouted.

"Wh- Which button?" The rabbit shouted.

"This one!" Benny shouted, and a small sign on the dash popped up that read 'This one, idiot!'

The Transformers were causing a lot of damage; but we had some toons their size that were ready to stop them. The Iron Giant marched forward with Marceline in her monster bat form; she had been given a temporary serum by Dr. Finkelstein that would help her fight in the sun. The Iron Giant soon met his match as the Transformer Tidal Wave began to fire every missile and lazer beam at him, moving slowly. He wasn't a fast mover, unlike the Iron Giant, that made a great effort to avoid his attacks, getting a bit bent and dented along the way.

Meanwhile, Marceline growled as she charged at Bulkhead, avoiding his giant hammer crashing down and shaking the ground as she latched onto his arm, trying with all her strength to tear it off. Bulkhead grabbed her and threw her off, about to smash her when she dodged him again. At the same time, Iron Giant took a lazer to his shoulder, dislocating it a bit, but it reattached slowly as he recovered from the attack. He quickly moved in, holding off both of Tidal Wave's arms. However, Tidal Wave just kept firing, and Iron Giant's leg was blown off by a missile. This didn't stop him, and as his leg slowly pieced itself together, he used one of his arms to balance himself, and the other to ball up into a fist, Tidal Wave emitting a robotic chuckle, mocking the other giant robot. Iron Giant was silent, and narrowed his eyes as he proceeded to punch Tidal Wave square in the face.

Marceline wiped blood from her lips, screeching as she lunged for Bulkhead. He grabbed her wing, threatening to tear it off. However, she soon eyed the small, red Transformers insignia on his chest, diving her head in to suck the color out of it. This distracted him, and she wriggled out of his grip. She latched onto his head, gritting her teeth as she slowly ripped off the huge chunk of metal, rendering the rest of him useless as the hulking mass came crashing down.

Tidal Wave hit Iron Giant with another laser in a desperate attempt to get him to stop punching his face, his one weakness. Despite all the weaponry Tidal Wave used, it did not stop the Iron Giant as he continued to pummel his face, and the sound of the Transformer shutting down was heard, the Iron Giant standing straight as he took a moment to made sure Tidal Wave was dead, before proceeding on.

Marceline turned to face more of the transformers when two more, Mudflap and Skids, moved in swiftly. Marceline did not hesitate for a moment, going right for Skids and tearing a part of his arm off. As she did this however, Mudflap grabbed her from behind, holding her up for Skids to aim at her with the other arm.

Finn and Jake were still slicing through ponies, but Finn stopped in his tracks when he saw in the distance that his vampire friend was in a bad situation. "Jake... Marceline looks like she needs our-"

When Skids fired a string of shots into Marceline, and she reverted to her normal form, Finn made a beeline for her.

"Finn, no! You'll get squashed!" Jake cried.

Princess Bubblegum gasped deeply, throwing off her headphones and hopping onto her swan, swiftly maneuvering past all of the fighting going on as Mudflap lifted his foot, about to crush the already bloodied Marceline. Princess Bubblegum grit her teeth, crying out as she scooped her up, making it past the giant robot just as he was about to bring his foot down.

"Marcy... I told you that you shouldn't have fought the Transformers! They-"

"Who else would have, then...?" Marceline said weakly. "Bonnie... I can heal pretty well, but this... this is bad..."

"Don't worry, I'll help you. Marceline, I'm not going to let you die." Princess Bubblegum said as they headed back for camp.

Sandy, Spongebob, and Patrick joined Spike from Ape Escape in rounding up ponies to kill off. The four had been provided special nets that would transport the ponies back to the campsite where the professor from said game and Natalie had set up a chamber where the monkeys would go 'ape' on them, to put it simply.

"Spongebob, Patrick! Stay close to me! Those helmets may be bullet proof but the rest of you aren't!" Sandy shouted.

"But Sandy, this is fun!" Patrick giggled.

"Patrick, we're in the middle of a battle!" Sandy threw her arms out.

"Then we'll just have to pretend we're in Jellyfish fields so it's not so scary!" Spongebob smiled.

Sandy smiled back lightly, when evil laughter was emitted from behind her. Queen Chysalis charged toward them, along with some of her changelings. Spike used his hula hoop to speed towards the changelings, before switching back to his net to round them up. In the meantime however, Queen Chysalis sent a beam at Sandy, rendering her armor useless from high levels of power. Sandy went to grab for her net gun, but as she did so, Queen Chrysalis sprang forward, impaling Sandy with her gnarly, twisted horn.

"No! Sandy!" Spongebob cried. He went to go for the net gun as she whipped Sandy off of her horn, when she impaled him next. "H- Hey, that t- tickles, you evil monster! Y- You hurt my friend!" Spongebob cried.

"What? Get off of me! What trickery is this?" Queen Chrysalis exclaimed, trying to get Spongebob off her horn. When she finally did, she was a bit dizzy as she stumbled back to recover, her changelings covering her as Spike continued to fight them.

Spongebob was dizzy as well, but he snapped out of it as he realized his dear friend was hurt, Patrick already trying to help her up. "N- No Patrick, she can't stand up!" Spongebob cried as he knelt down by her. "Sandy, just... stay here, I can radio Squidward to bring the pattymobile here and bring you back to camp!"

"Spongebob... just stay safe, okay?" Sandy groaned a bit as she winced. "You and Patrick stay with Spike and keep fighting... just pretend the enemies are jellyfish, and don't get stung."

"Sandy, are you crazy, we can't just leave you here! S- Sandy? Sandy!" Spongebob cried, and Patrick looked around, suddenly feeling very small, and frightened.

Rayne continued to fight through the armed humans like it was nothing, licking her lips, it seemed like through all of the shouting, the voices, the sound of bullets and the roaring explosions of gunfire and grenades, nothing could distract her. Nothing, except-

"Hoo hoo! I've already dethtroyed three guyth jutht by clogging their gunth with my candy cane!" King Candy giggled as he hopped up to her.

Rayne whirled around, gritting her teeth. "You IDIOT! You shouldn't be out here, you're going to get killed! Head back to camp!"

"But I thought you didn't care what happened to me!" King Candy said, before his expression softened a bit. "I'd rather die by your side than sit a camp leaving you to fight by yourthelf."

"I don't NEED your help!" Rayne growled as she ripped a gun out of a guys's hand, shooting down a few others around them. "I will be the only one standing when this is all over!"

She hopped up on a tank, proceeding to try to rip open the top hatch to assault whomever was inside. King Candy watched her with awe, smiling proudly.

"Wow... she'th amathing..." He whispered to himself. As Rayne was doing this, her back was facing him, and King Candy gasped when a human spotted her, going up to the tank and aiming his firearm at her. King Candy quickly realized that she was not aware of this, and he gasped, screaming her name on the top of his lungs as he hopped onto the back of the man, and Rayne suddenly stopped, blinking as she turned to look behind her. She furrowed her brows when she realized what was happening, and a flash of something... a memory ancient, vanished as quickly as it came in her mind. The soldier flipped King Candy off of him, pinning him on the ground with his foot and aiming his gun to kill. Rayne seemed to act on autopilot as she ripped off a chunk of metal, hurling it at the soldier. As the soldier squeezed the trigger, the metal collided with him, sending him flying several feet as he was killed upon impact.

Rayne hopped off the tank, forgetting her previous action as she knelt by his side, shaking her head. "You fool... you stupid, idiotic fool!" She screamed. "Why did you do that? I told you I will survive this! Why would you just throw your life away?!"

King Candy coughed a bit. He had not been shot in the heart as the soldier had intended, but he was still shot in the chest, all the way on the right side. "Becauthe... I... I love you. That'th all I can thay, really... I love you."

"WHY?" Rayne shrieked. "I still don't understand why you can love someone like me! We barely even know each other! I have done nothing but reject your advances and scream in your face!" She exclaimed. "I am a most despicable creature who lives to watch others slowly wither in their misery and agony! What in this entire UNIVERSE could you find that could give you even a REMOTE excuse to love me?!"

King Candy looked up at her weakly, smiling a bit. "That'th jutht it. You've never loved anyone becauthe no one hath ever taught you what love ith. I wanted to do that for you, to... to show you that it ITH a wonderful thing. Becauthe... when you do finally thee it... you'll be the motht loving of all... becauthe you'll know what living without it ith like, and will sthop at nothing to fight for it."

Rayne began to tremble, looking at her hands. "I don't... understand..." She inhaled sharply, shaking her head. "I... I feel like I... I have experienced this before... that... I've lost something, dear... that... I never wanted to... feel..."

Deep inside her chest, she felt her cold, stone heart experience something. She felt a small crack, finally, after an eternity, something had penetrated the small, black mass, in the form of a heartbreak. It came out through her eyes in a tear drop, and as it fell onto King Candy, a small bit of steam emitted from it.

**No. I will not let you succumb. You are cold, unfeeling, as the world ought to be. You will not weaken. You will not fall.**

Rayne's eyes blackened over as she breathed heavily, the voice echoing inside her head. She willed herself to follow it, as she always did, until she heard a second, unknown, but somehow familiar voice.

_Rayne... this isn't who you are. _It whispered, ever so quietly. _Even when I cannot be your light... find something that can be. Find it and keep it in your heart. Never lose it._

King Candy's eyes slowly closed, and Rayne's eyes began to change again, still black, but her irises began to reappear, a glowing white. Sobs ripped through her chest, inhaling deeply as she held King Candy to her with one arm, his head resting limply against her shoulder. Around her hands suddenly erupted white flames, but they did not burn either her or King Candy.

As I fought alongside Calhoun, I noticed something, looking over to see Rayne being engulfed in white flames. "Rayne... what's happening to her?"

Rayne slowly stood to her feet, swallowing thickly. "No... indeed I shall not fall... I will not weaken... and I will not succumb... I will not succumb to YOU!" She screamed. "I WILL NO LONGER SUCCUMB TO YOU!" She emitted an ear piercing shriek, and as a group of soldiers surrounded and were about to open fire, she sent white flames jutting from her, levitating in the air as she maintained her shriek, the flames turning them to dust and ash. Both her arms were around King Candy now, and as soldier after soldier tried to shoot her down, they were turned to ash, the dust mixing together and swirling high into the air before cascading and encircling around the two of them. Her tears fell, and her shrieking only stopped when she felt something, looking down. She was met with King Candy's gaze as she felt his heartbeat return, and he opened his eyes, looking up at her with awe. She slowly floated down, her hair still levitating in the air as her feet touched the ground.

"Go." She whispered to him. "Go to safety."

I stared in shock at the scene, tears brimming my eyes. "Rayne..." I whispered.

Even from afar, it seemed she had heard me, turning in my direction. "A great change has occurred." Rayne's voice whispered in my head. "We must win this battle, together."

I wordlessly nodded, and Calhoun was looking at me oddly, wondering what was going on. I turned to her, smiling lightly, letting her know that whatever had happened, everything was alright... or so it seemed.

Turbo had been having the time of his life driving around, and he had taken down a number of ponies along with the other drivers using Gru's minions and a number of other weapons and gadgets. He saw me, skidding to a stop. "Kara!" He called out.

I turned, running over to him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, hop in and cover me!" He smiled, patting the seat. "It'll be just like our turnabouts in my game!"

I smiled nervously, nodding. "Sounds like a plan!" I hopped in, and I couldn't help but giggle a bit as one of the loaded minions chirped and waved, and I waved back. We fired through ponies left and right, and I even sent a few flying back as they tried to get at our car.

Pinkie Pie was watching all the fighting going on, and she grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes. Day one of battle was coming to a close, and her enemies were not going down as easily as she wanted us to. She had to destroy our morale somehow, give us a reason to lose hope. She then noticed something, seeing Turbo and I speeding our way through a horde of ponies. She grinned darkly, creepily.

"Queen Chrystalis!" Pinkie Pie called. The evil creature just finished killing off one of the Powerpuff Girls, Blossom, with one of her power beams, before whirling around. "What?! I'm a bit BUSY here!" She shouted.

"I have a little job for you." Pinkie chuckled.

Turbo and I were smooth sailing. "I think Rayne... finally felt something. I think she finally felt love." I smiled.

"What...? Are you serious? She..."

"Yes, Turbo. King Candy had been hurt trying to protect her... something happened, I could feel it. She broke through something... what it was, I have no idea." I looked over at him as he drove. "Maybe now she won't be so bad."

"That would be something... at least I won't have to worry about her hurting you anymore." Turbo reached over to give my hand a gentle squeeze for a moment before putting it back on the wheel. Suddenly, there was a flash. Everything became a blur then, and my whole body felt numb. After what seemed like an eternity. I inhaled sharply, sitting up. My eyes widened in fear when I was met with a dark sky. No... it wasn't supposed to be dark for another hour! How could this be? Wait... I suddenly went into a panic, scrambling to my feet.

"Turbo! TURBO!" I screamed on the top of my lungs, and I realized I was alone. Had the battle already ended for the day? What had happened? Was I knocked out for long? I stumbled around aimlessly, tears starting to cascade down my cheeks. I cried out his name until I fell to my knees. I saw something then, tilting my head. "Turbo...?" I crawled towards the still figure, and my breathing quickened as I rolled him over towards me. "N- No, Turbo, wake up... Turbo, wake up!"

"Kara?!" Rafael had been searching the battle ground for hours, going out against Calhoun's orders from the campsite when he heard I had not returned with the other surviving ranks. "Kara, thank God you're alive!" He cried, standing a few feet from me. When he saw my condition and I was holding a still Turbo, he stopped, his expression softening as he went down on a knee. "Kara..."

I was shaking my head. "I'm going to save him." My hands were glowing, trying to heal Turbo. "I promised I would protect him. I can't let him die."

Rafael exhaled slowly, closing his eyes for a moment. "Kara... we all returned to camp an hour ago, when the sun went down. He..." Rafael touched Turbo's hand, feeling that it was cold. "He-"

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" I screamed, making him jump back a bit.

"Kara, listen to me...!" He suddenly realized something, panic setting in. "There's something you HAVE to know! We have to get back to camp!"

"I'm not leaving Turbo here alone, he's coming with me or I'm staying here!"

"No, he can't! He's dead Kara, he's going to-" Rafael stopped, his eyes widening as he heard the shuffling of "feet" moving towards them. "Kara, we have to get our butts MOVING!"

"I said I'm not-!" I suddenly felt movement, looking back down and crying tears of relief. "Turbo... I knew it, I knew you were alive... I-" I widened my eyes in confusion when I felt Rafael drag me back, making me let go of Turbo. "What are you doing?! He's just waking up, let me go help him!"

"He's NOT alive! He's turning!" Rafael screamed.

I was utterly confused, but the worst was realized when I looked upon Turbo again in the low light, and saw him... changing... into a ponyfied version of himself. My eyes widened, and I trembled all over as I breathed unevenly. "NO! Turbo, STOP! Turbo, please, look at me! LOOK AT ME! You can fight this, you can stop it! Fight it for me!"

The ponyfied Turbo stood wobbily, opening his eyes. "We serve the herd..." He said along with the other ponyfied toons that had perished that day. Rafael dragged me back screaming and thrashing wildly, shouting incoherent sentences. Once at camp, everyone gasped and their questions were answered by the words I screamed.

"Ralph..." Calhoun said with a tone of sadness in her voice. "Restrain her."

Rosie, who had been escorted back to camp when her leg had been shot, covered her mouth, her eyes closing shut as she cried at the scene.

Rayne came into the tent when she heard my screaming. When they bound my hands and had me sit on the edge of the bed, finally calming me down after about an hour, she took a step forward.

"I request a private audience with Kara." She said. Her eyes were still the same as they had been earlier, no longer crimson. "Now."

Rafael was the only one who took a few moments to leave, wanting to stay by my side. It broke his heart to see his friend like this, and he waited outside. Rayne slowly approached me, crouching down in front of me.

"He isn't gone." Rayne said softly. "Only if you allow him to be. Try to understand what I am saying to you... what I have... seen... today." I said nothing, trembling a bit, my eyebrows furrowed deeply. "We will win this battle. We will restore all that is to be restored and all will end in our favor. Nothing can stop us. Because we have... we have-"

"I... I was supposed to protect him. I let him die. I failed. Queen Chrysalis targeted his car because of me. He had survived the entire battle until I got in his car. My love for him... is what led to his death." I said in a serious tone.

"No. It was their evil that killed him. But we will destroy that evil. We will destroy all evil, until it cannot harm us anymore. Until it cannot control us anymore." Rayne took my hands in hers, and at the contact, my pupils suddenly dilated, scrambling backwards and I stared at her, unblinking. Rayne stood, her eyes widening in horror. "No... impossible... this cannot be-"

"You're right. We will destroy them!" I hissed. "I will destroy every last one of them, I will destroy and destroy until I no longer feel happiness, sadness, I will only feel numb, I will only feel a hunger that I will feed into!" I screamed.

Rafael burst back into the tent. "The hell is going on here?!" Rayne stood in shock, frozen. "Answer me!"

"The worst has happened..." Rayne whispered.

"Tomorrow, you will unleash me... and I will guarantee your win. I will guarantee... that every last one of them suffer." I said, before wobbling a bit, fainting onto the bed.

"... her heart is failing." Rayne whispered. "It's being consumed by the hatred in the atmosphere of this battle."

* * *

**Okay, you can all breathe now. You have survived the first day of battle. Don't fret, there is MUCH more to come, we're not done yet! Thank you for reading and your support, please don't forget to leave a review and stay tuned for the next chapter! :D**


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